Former California councilman's corruption unmasked after FBI finds cash buried in backyard

California ex‑councilmen sentenced to prison over bribe scheme tied to police‑union contract and marijuana permits

Baldwin Park, Calif. — Two former city officials in the Los Angeles area received federal prison sentences for taking bribes that helped secure a police‑union contract and a series of commercial marijuana permits.

On Friday, a federal judge in Los Angeles sentenced 63‑year‑old Ricardo Pacheco, a former Baldwin Park City Council member, to 18 months in prison. Pacheco also faced a $10,000 fine and was ordered to forfeit $219,755. The FBI seized more than $83,000 in cash, including nearly $63,000 that Pacheco admitted he buried in his backyard. A restitution hearing is still pending.

The same sentence and a restitution order of $323,557 were handed to 39‑year‑old Isaac Jacob Galvan, a former Compton City Councilman who had served on the Baldwin Park council as well.

The two men were charged under federal bribery statutes after prosecutors uncovered a scheme that spanned the 2017–2019 period, when Baldwin Park began allowing commercial cannabis cultivation, manufacturing and distribution. The investigation, which began with a police‑union deal, later expanded to a pay‑to‑play system for marijuana permits and involved more than 20 people connected to local government and the cannabis industry.

A police‑union contract that cost millions

In March 2018, Pacheco voted in favor of a three‑year police‑union contract worth at least $4.4 million. Between January and October of that year, he solicited and received $37,900 from a Baldwin Park police officer in exchange for that vote. The officer later testified that he was directed to the FBI’s assistance in the corruption investigation.

In October, the officer slipped Pacheco a $20,000 cash bribe inside an envelope at a local coffee shop. Pacheco also sent $17,900 in checks to his church and to political action committees that were nominally set up in other people’s names but were actually controlled by him.

Pacheco’s involvement in the police‑union contract was discovered during a sting that was filmed by the FBI. He later became a cooperating witness and wore a concealed wire as investigators built cases that led to six indictments involving more than 20 individuals.

Bribes tied to marijuana permits

The investigation uncovered a separate scheme in which Pacheco accepted $70,000 in bribes from the owner of W&F International Corp., a Diamond Bar import–export business that was seeking a commercial marijuana permit in Baldwin Park. Galvan, who was a councilman in Compton at the time, acted as the intermediary. In exchange for the money, Pacheco voted in favor of W&F’s permit in June and July of 2018 and later backed the company’s effort to relocate its operations.

The payments were obscured through checks that had blank payee lines and were routed through bank accounts that were not the owner’s or W&F’s. When Pacheco requested additional funds to cover legal costs, Galvan told the owner that the councilman needed $25,000; the owner provided $20,000 through seven checks from unrelated bank accounts.

Galvan admitted he had failed to report $560,525 of income to the IRS from 2017 through 2020, resulting in a tax loss of $115,816. In July, the owner of W&F pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit bribery and was sentenced to 20 months in federal prison and fined $3,000.

Wider ramifications

The probe expanded to include a former Baldwin Park city attorney, a commerce city manager, a San Bernardino County planning commissioner and a marijuana distributor, among others. The Department of Justice described the conduct of Pacheco and Galvan as “corrupt acts while they were elected officials,” involving the acceptance of bribes for political support and the awarding of city permits.

Pacheco had served on the Baldwin Park City Council for more than two decades before resigning in 2020 as part of a plea agreement. His actions, prosecutors said, used the powers of his elected office to collect cash and funnel other payments through his church and political groups.

Current status

Both men are scheduled to begin their prison sentences shortly after sentencing. Pacheco will serve 18 months in a federal facility, with a restitution hearing still to be scheduled. Galvan faces a similar timeline. The broader investigation is ongoing, with federal authorities continuing to pursue additional charges against other individuals linked to the corruption scheme.

The case underscores the growing scrutiny of local government officials in California’s burgeoning cannabis industry and the potential for abuse when public office intersects with lucrative commercial ventures.