Bell is one of the poorest cities in L.A. County. Photo: Robert J. Lopez

I was part of a team of 20 Los Angeles Times reporters and editors, led by Jeff Gottlieb and Ruben Vives, that was awarded the 2011 Pulitzer Prize gold medal for public service. Our series of articles exposed how top officials in Bell, one of the poorest cities in Los Angeles County, enriched themselves with extraordinary salaries and benefits while illegally raising taxes on residents and resorting to other legally questionable schemes to raise revenue. The stories resulted in criminal charges against eight former officials and new disclosure laws in cities and counties across California.

The story was broken by Gottlieb and Vives, who first reported the high salaries in summer 2010. I became involved with Paloma Esquivel and wrote two investigative articles, both of which were submitted as part of the Pulitzer package. The articles revealed how city officials raised revenue from questionable tactics such as arbitrary fees on small business owners and seizing vehicles and property of people who allegedly violated municipal codes. Both pieces featured stories of residents who were victimized and relied on numerous public records. Here they are:

Bell Codes a Cash Cow
Bell officials demanded arbitrary fees from some business owners

This investigation took me into the underworld of human smuggling, organized crime and narco-trafficking in the badlands east of Tijuana. The area was controlled by the ruthless Arellano-Felix drug cartel. My colleagues and I investigated the Mexican smuggling village of Jacume and the corrupt law enforcement officials who allowed the crime to flourish. Known as a “black hole” of crime and corruption, the village sits high on a ridge overlooking the U.S. border and eastern San Diego County. We obtained confidential law enforcement documents and interviewed residents, smugglers and U.S. and Mexican authorities for a look at the inner-workings of an operation largely beyond the control of law enforcement. Here’s a link the article and here’s a link to a great Luis Sinco photo gallery of images shot during our investigation.

(Photo Credit: Luis Sinco/Los Angeles Times)