Robert Rizzo, ex-Bell, Calif. city manager, pleads guilty in tax case

LOS ANGELES -- Former Bell city manager Robert Rizzo has pleaded guilty in Los Angeles to charges that he filed a false federal income-tax return to illegally reduce his tax liability.

The U.S. attorney's office says Rizzo entered a guilty plea Monday to one count each of conspiracy and filing a false federal income-tax return. He'll be sentenced March 10 and faces up to eight years in prison. 

The IRS suffered losses of more than $300,000 for the years 2006 – 2010, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office, CBS Los Angeles reports.

Prosecutors say Rizzo created a corporation to fraudulently claim losses exceeding $300,000 on his income-tax return.

He earlier pleaded no contest to 69 counts of fraud, misappropriation of public funds and other charges after county prosecutors accused him of orchestrating a brazen scheme that drove Bell to the brink of bankruptcy. He's also scheduled to be sentenced in March for that case.