Bell City Manager pleads guilty to California DUI

Former Bell City, California, city manager, Robert Rizzo, pleaded guilty to a DUI charge stemming from a March arrest in Huntington Beach.

The 56-year-old man accepted a plea deal to one count of DUI with a BAC over .2 percent; his BAC was recorded at .28 percent at the time of his arrest. The elevated BAC can result in increased charges in the state of California.

Rizzo was stopped after police received a 911 call from a concerned citizen. The witness watched Rizzo drive past his own house, eventually crashing into a neighbor’s mailbox on his way home from dinner around 10 PM on March 6.

While instituting a field sobriety tests, officials became concerned for Rizzo’s safety and stopped the proceedings. As part of the plea deal, Rizzo will complete a nine-month awareness program and serve 10 days of community service. 

Rizzo has made news this year after stepping down from his post when a Los Angeles Times report exposed his salary to be around $800,000 per year. The report blew the lid off of a salary scandal involving many high profile officials in the Bell area, now under an ongoing investigation.