The former mayor of Palm Springs and two developers have been charged with corruption after an FBI investigation. In a criminal complaint listing 21 felony charges against him, prosecutors allege that during his two years as mayor, Steve Pougnet accepted bribes from local real-estate developers in exchange for favorable decisions from the city council. Pougnet is charged with nine counts of receiving bribes, eight counts of conflict of interest as a public official and three counts of perjury. Also charged were businessmen John Wessman and Richard Meaney. Each is charged with nine counts of offering a bribe. All three men face an additional charge of conspiring to bribe a public official. The Riverside County District Attorney’s Office alleges that Pougnet was paid $375,000 between September 2012 and September 2014. If convicted, Pougnet would be barred for life from ever holding public office and face a potential maximum sentence of 19 years in state prison. Meaney and Wessman face a potential 12 years in state prison. All three men are expected to surrender to the court in the next few days. The charges come 17 months after a public corruption task force made up of the FBI, District Attorney’s Office, and the IRS raided Palm Springs City Hall.
