Bell city administrators who resigned last week after it was revealed they were taking home exorbitant salaries won't be able to get their pensions until investigators clear them — and the City Council that agreed to the salaries — of any wrongdoing, the Times reports today.

Ed Fong, a spokesman for the state's massive public pension program CalPERS, told the Weekly, “We're talking about potentially high pension amounts, and we want to make sure everything is proper, that no rules were broken, that there were no improprieties, before any money goes out the door.”

Bell's top officials received some of the highest municipal wages in the nation. City Administrative Officer Robert Rizzo made $787,637 a year, almost twice the salary of President Obama; police Chief Randy Adams made $457,000 annually, and Assistant City Manager Angela Spaccia made $376,288.

In other words, they can afford very good attorneys if CalPERS stands in the way of their rich pensions.

Fong said CalPERS is awaiting the investigation being conducted by Attorney General Jerry Brown, who has issued a subpoena for hundreds of documents.

If approved, Rizzo would make more than $600,000 per year as a pensioner.

Separately, District Attorney Steve Cooley is also investigating potential voter fraud in Bell.

Here's a slide show of photos from this week's Bell City Council meeting.

-With reporting from City News Service. Got news? Email us.

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