Judge rebukes Bell leaders as he orders Rizzo to stand trial in salary scandal

Judge calls former City Administrator Robert Rizzo's salary 'obscene' and said e-mails from his assistant to a prospective police chief were the 'smoking gun' of the case. Rizzo and others are ordered to return March 24 to face charges in the salary scandal.

As Bell's newly elected council members considered slashing city services and laying off workers, the man accused of stealing millions of dollars from the working-class community — leaving it in financial disarray — was ordered to stand trial.