Temple City mayor convicted of bribery

LOS ANGELES - A former Temple City mayor was convicted of bribery and perjury charges this week in connection with a development in the San Gabriel Valley city four years ago.Jurors deliberated about an hour before convicting Cathe Wilson, 78, of three counts of asking for or receiving a bribe and three counts of perjury. The perjury charges involved one count of lying to a Los Angeles County grand jury in 2008 and two counts of submitting false material in Fair Political Practices reports. Superior Court Judge Alex Ricciardulli, who presided over the trial, scheduled sentencing for June 2. Wilson, who is not in custody, faces up to nine years in prison. Wilson, her campaign manager and another form Temple City mayor, Judy Wong, were indicted in June 2009 on charges that cash bribes were demanded and received from developer Randy Wang for his Temple City Piazza project. Another council member, David Capra, was charged separately. Wong, 54, pleaded no contest and was sentenced last year to 16 months in prison. Scott Carwile, 52, Wilson's campaign manager, pleaded guilty to a perjury count and is scheduled to be sentenced May 24. Capra pleaded no contest in 2009 to a misdemeanor charge of failure to report a campaign contribution and agreed to resign from the city council.

********** Published: May 5, 2011 - Volume 10 - Issue 3