Ricardo Pacheco, a former councilman for Baldwin Park, California, has been sentenced to 18 months in federal prison after admitting to a bribery scheme involving a police union contract and marijuana permits. Pacheco, 63, must also pay a $10,000 fine and forfeit $219,755. He previously resigned from the City Council in 2020.
Prosecutors stated that Pacheco used his position to solicit and accept cash payments, funneling some through his church and political groups. The FBI seized $83,145 in cash from Pacheco, including approximately $63,000 he had buried in his backyard in two locations.
The case originated with a deal involving the Baldwin Park police union. Between January and October 2018, Pacheco received $37,900 from a police officer in exchange for supporting the Baldwin Park Police Association’s contract, a deal valued at over $4.4 million across three years. The officer was cooperating with the FBI, which was investigating corruption.
During a sting operation at a coffee shop in October 2018, the officer gave Pacheco a $20,000 cash bribe. Pacheco also directed $17,900 via checks to his church and political action committees that he secretly controlled. Pacheco voted in favor of the police association contract in March 2018.
Later, Pacheco became an informant for the FBI, assisting in investigations that led to six indictments and implicated over 20 individuals connected to local government and the marijuana industry. The investigation also uncovered an alleged pay-to-play system for marijuana permits in Baldwin Park, which began allowing cannabis businesses in 2017.
Isaac Jacob Galvan, a former Compton City Councilman, was also sentenced to 18 months in prison and ordered to pay $323,557 in restitution for his role in the scheme. Galvan offered consulting services to a company seeking a marijuana permit in Baldwin Park and facilitated $70,000 in bribes to Pacheco in exchange for votes and political support. These payments were disguised through third-party checks. When Pacheco sought funds for his legal defense, Galvan reportedly conveyed that Pacheco wanted $25,000, and the company owner agreed to provide $20,000 through seven checks from unrelated bank accounts.
Galvan also admitted to failing to report approximately $560,525 in income to the IRS between 2017 and 2020, resulting in a tax loss of $115,816.
Another individual involved, Yichang Bai, the owner of W&F International Corp., pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit bribery and received a 20-month federal prison sentence and a $3,000 fine.