Bell Councilman Luis Artiga resigned today. If he had any honor at all he would have resigned a long time ago. But he’s a Baptist pastor, why would he do the right thing?
Councilman Luis Artiga, one of the eight Bell officials arrested in a corruption sweep last month, announced Monday that he is resigning his position.
Artiga was one of four sitting council members to be arrested on charges that they misappropriated public funds by paying themselves nearly $100,000 annually for meetings that never occurred or lasted only a minute. Four other former city officials also were arrested.
Artiga, pastor of Bell Community Church, looked at the windfall as a “gift from God” until he was caught, then he changed it to “a trap set by the devil.” He still claims that he is innocence.
Artiga, who is free on $146,000 bail, denies any misconduct during his two years on the Bell council and added he'll ultimately be proven innocent.
Artiga may not think he did anything wrong, but his incompetence and greed will still put him in prison. These men were crooks and deserve no better than to face the full scrutiny of their corrupt characters by a court of law.
