Ex-Vernon official pleads guilty for misusing funds, keeps 500K pension

Insult-to-injury department: Long-time city administrator Bruce Malkenhorst was accused of illegally reimbursing himself for golf outings, massages, and meals. He even paid off his Visa bill on the government trough, according to investigators. For five years he denied the charges. But as part of a plea deal, Malkenhorst will receive three years of probation and pay as much as $90,000 in fines, penalties, and restitution. He could probably afford it - Malkenhorst has been a poster child for outrageous pension payouts, and despite the guilty plea, he will be able to keep receiving retirement checks in full. By law only the pensions of elected officials convicted of public corruption can have their pension reduced or revoked. From the LAT:

Malkenhorst was a larger-than-life figure in Southeast L.A. Friends of Robert Rizzo said the former Bell city administrator saw Malkenhorst as a mentor and confidant. Before The Times revealed last summer that Rizzo was set to earn $800,000 in 2010, Malkenhorst had already eclipsed him by earning more than $911,000 in his final year. During the height of his time in Vernon, Malkenhorst was driven around in a limousine and often spent his mornings playing golf. When he retired in 2005, he was succeeded by his son, Bruce Malkenhorst Jr., who left in 2008. Malkenhorst Sr. has become a potent symbol to Vernon's critics. Assembly Speaker John Pérez, the author of the disincorporation bill, often cites in his speeches the $42,000 monthly pension Malkenhorst continues to receive from the California Public Employees' Retirement System.