LOS ANGELES—Authorities arrested the mayor and most city-council members Tuesday in Bell, Calif., charging them and former officials with defrauding constituents of $5.5 million in outsized salaries and perks.  The arrests, which landed all but one of the city's elected officials in Los Angeles County jails, came after revelations this summer that some part-time council members were paying themselves $100,000 a year. Former City Manager Robert Rizzo was the highest paid among those charged, taking home $1.1 million a year in salary and benefits.  The blue-collar municipality of 37,000 mostly Latino residents is one of a cluster of small cities southeast of Los Angeles that has been wracked by corruption scandals for years.  "This is corruption on steroids," said Los Angeles County District Attorney Steve Cooley, who filed the charges Tuesday. At a news conference, Mr. Cooley said more charges could be filed as the probe continues. He said the officials could face a range of sentences if convicted, and promised "substantial prison time for the worst offenders."  All but one of the city's sitting elected officials were booked on criminal charges Tuesday. Bail hearings are set for Wednesday morning. Bell city-council member Lorenzo Velez, who hasn't been charged in civil or criminal court, was left to run the city with interim City Manager Pedro Carrillo.  Mr. Carrillo said in a statement released after the arrests that he was "prepared to double down our efforts to continue to restore order, establish good government reforms" and continue to run the city.  Mr. Rizzo was charged with 53 counts of misappropriation of $4.3 million of public funds. The district attorney's office said Mr. Rizzo "wrote his own employment contracts that were never approved by the city council."  Other former and current officials were charged with 24 counts of misappropriating $1.2 million of public funds.  The criminal case also alleges that Mr. Rizzo, hired as Bell's chief administrative officer in 1994, gave nearly $1.9 million of unauthorized loans to himself, his former assistant, Angela Spaccia, two council members "and dozens of others."  Mr. Rizzo's lawyer and lawyers for some of the defendants said their clients' salaries and loans were not a secret because elected officials approved them.  "Both of my clients intend to prove their innocence," said Stanley L. Friedman, the lawyer representing Mayor Oscar Hernandez and former city council member Victor Bello. "Given the general hysteria that is going on in Bell and the political environment in California, they're not surprised by the charges."  Bell officials used taxpayer dollars "as their own piggy bank, which they looted at will," Mr. Cooley said.  Mr. Cooley said most of the arrests were without incident. However, a battering ram was used to enter the house of Mayor Oscar Hernandez, who was "a little slow" in answering the door, Mr. Cooley said at the news conference. Bail for Mr. Rizzo, who stepped down in July after the scandal broke in the Los Angeles Times, was set at $3.2 million.  The criminal charges come on the heels of a civil suit filed against former and current Bell officials last week by California Attorney General Jerry Brown seeking to recover millions of dollars of salaries and pension benefits from Bell officials. Mr. Brown agreed to file civil charges while Mr. Cooley pursued criminal charges.  Both men are in the midst of political campaigns. Mr. Cooley is the Republican candidate to succeed Mr. Brown as attorney general; Mr. Brown is the Democratic candidate for governor. Each has been accused by opponents and lawyers for some of the defendants of using the Bell scandal to burnish their election campaigns.  Mr. Rizzo's lawyer, James W. Spertus, accused Mr. Cooley of grandstanding by allowing the media to photograph Mr. Rizzo being taken into custody outside his home. "The arrest of Mr. Rizzo in a public spectacle was inappropriate and done for campaign purposes," Mr. Spertus said.  The arrests were widely anticipated following this summer's revelations of inflated salaries. Angry residents had already managed to oust a few city officials, but had been clamoring for criminal charges, and mounted a recall campaign to unseat most of the city-council members.  "I'm so glad this day is finally here," said Mario Rivas, a Bell resident and a member of the Bell Residents Club, which has been pushing for investigations of city officials. On Tuesday, Mr. Rivas and other Bell residents held a celebratory lunch in downtown Los Angeles.  But Mr. Rivas said he and others are convinced "it's just the beginning." Mr. Rivas said he was disappointed that the former police chief, Randy Adams, whose salary was $457,000 a year, wasn't arrested. Mr. Adams was named in the civil suit.  Mr. Cooley, who has been criticized for having a friendly relationship with Mr. Adams, said Tuesday that the probe so far hasn't led to charges against Mr. Adams, but didn't rule it out.  "I would charge my mother if I had evidence," Mr. Cooley said.  Meanwhile, some Bell residents are pushing for the city to be handed over to impartial receivers in the county or the state. "This is a crisis of confidence," said the Bell Residents Club's Mr. Rivas, adding that the only way for the city to move forward was for an impartial outsider to take over.  The remaining city officials pledged to keep the city running.  "It is a sad day for Bell that four current and two former members of the council also have been arrested," said a statement released by a Bell spokeswoman. The statement said the city believed Mr. Rizzo, as well as his former assistant, Ms. Spaccia, "were at the root of the cancer that has afflicted the City of Bell."  Write to Tamara Audi at tammy.audi@wsj.com
Eight current and former municipal officials were arrested as part of a corruption probe in Bell, Calif., where residents were outraged after learning officials were paying themselves hundreds of thousands of dollars in salaries.