L.A. Building Inspector Ensnared in FBI Bribery Sting

Two building inspectors employed by the City of Los Angeles, one of whom resides in Eagle Rock, were arrested on federal bribery charges Friday after being snared in an FBI sting operation.

Hugo Joel Gonzalez, 49, of Eagle Rock, was arrested for allegedly accepting $9,000 in bribes from an informant and an undercover agent. Also arrested was Raoul Joseph Germain, 59, of Altadena, who allegedly accepted $6,000 in bribes from an undercover FBI agent.

Both Germain and Gonzalez work on the Los Angeles Department of Building and Safety [LADBS], which is responsible for inspection of construction projects in the city.

According to the criminal complaints against Gonzalez and Germain, the FBI began an undercover investigation of the two inspectors after an informant, described in court documents as a work site supervisor, complained that the two men had accepted bribes in exchange for granting necessary permits.

The affidavit that supports the criminal complaint against Gonzalez alleges that he first took bribes from an anonymous informant and then from an undercover agent posing as a residential construction contractor in exchange for a permit card at a South Los Angeles property.

In the affidavit, FBI Special Agent Teresa Brand reports that the informant told her that the "soliciting, demanding and accepting of bribe payments in exchange for inspection approvals is systemic within LADBS."

In addition to monetary bribes, the affidavit includes claims by the informant that contractors could pay off inspectors by providing building materials for LADBS projects, paying laborers to work at properties owned by LADBS inspectors and, on one occasion, paying for a vacation for a LADBS inspector.

In exchange, the inspectors would forego actually physically inspecting any of the projects they were tasked with checking for compliance with city building codes.

Germain, who Department of Justice officials say is pictured at right, was released on a $100,000 bail bond Friday, while Gonzalez was held without bail, according to Thom Mrozek, a DOJ spokesman.

Germain was approached by an undercover FBI agent who told him he was paying too much in bribes to another city inspector.  Germain then offered to sign off on inspection papers in return for $1,500, according to the complaint.

The FBI is asking that anyone with information about building inspectors or other officials accepting bribes in Los Angeles to contact the FBI by calling its local Field Office at (310) 477-656. DOJ officials said the case would be an important priority for the office.

“Corruption by any official further corrodes public confidence,” wrote United States Attorney André Birotte Jr in a press release. “In this case, two government employees directly threatened an important public safety mission by exploiting their positions to line their own pockets.”

Germain and Gonzalez could receive as much as 10 years in the case, according to the release.