Ex-Compton Officials Are Sentenced

Two former Compton officials were sentenced Friday on felony corruption charges, a day after former Mayor Omar Bradley received a three-year prison term for misappropriating public funds.

Former City Manager John D. Johnson was sentenced to three years in prison. Ex-Councilman Amen Rahh received three years’ probation and 250 days of community service.

Bradley, Johnson and Rahh were convicted in February of using city-issued credit cards for personal expenses and double-billing taxpayers.

Prosecutors said Bradley spent nearly $12,000 on golf rounds, clothing and resort stays.

Bradley appeared briefly at the Los Angeles County Courthouse in Compton early Friday, where he was denied bail. Dressed in a dark blue suit, Bradley held a Bible under his left arm, his wrists handcuffed.

Later in the morning, as Rahh was sentenced to probation, a group of about 30 supporters inside the courtroom shrieked, some leaping out of their seats.

“It is a big sigh of relief,” said Rahh’s niece, Tausha Montgomery. “We’ve got our family back.”

Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Jack W. Morgan cited Rahh’s age, 56, and poor health in his decision. Attorney Albert DeBlanc said Rahh suffered a heart attack in 1999 and had severe diabetes.

Prosecutors said Rahh used city credit cards to pay for personal expenses on 13 occasions and misused city funds during nine trips.

Despite being satisfied with the sentence, DeBlanc said he planned to appeal. Rahh is a professor of black studies at Cal State Long Beach and Compton Community College. DeBlanc said he did not know if the probation sentence would affect Rahh’s teaching credentials.

Johnson received the same three-year sentence that Bradley was given Thursday. Several friends and family members sighed heavily as Morgan read the sentence, burying their faces in their hands.

Morgan said Johnson “took advantage of the position of trust.”

Johnson was accused of using more than $5,000 in city funds to take his son’s basketball team to a tournament in Florida. He repaid the money, but only after he came under investigation, prosecutors said.

“It’s unbelievable,” said his father, John Johnson Sr. “Three good men who have contributed so much to their communities, now their whole lives and families have been destroyed.”

After the sentencing, Johnson asked the judge if he could hug his wife. The couple embraced and Johnson was led away by sheriff’s deputies.