> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://californiaunsealed.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # From City Hall to Federal Prison: The Rise and Fall of Ricardo Pacheco - URL: https://californiaunsealed.com/from-city-hall-to-federal-prison-the-rise-and-fall-of-ricardo-pacheco/ - Published: 2026-08-27T01:34:00.000Z - Updated: 2026-10-20T03:36:59.000Z - Description: After more than two decades in Baldwin Park politics, a former councilman was sentenced for bribery. Federal investigators uncovered cash payments, sham political committees and money buried in his backyard. - Author: CA Unsealed - Tags: News *After more than two decades in Baldwin Park politics, a former councilman was sentenced for bribery. Federal investigators uncovered cash payments, sham political committees and money buried in his backyard.* **BALDWIN PARK, Calif. —** For more than two decades, Ricardo Pacheco held a seat on the Baldwin Park City Council. He was first elected in 1997, served as mayor pro tempore and remained a fixture in local government until his resignation in 2020. On August 24, 2026, his political career reached a different milestone: a federal prison sentence. U.S. District Judge Otis D. Wright II sentenced Pacheco, 63, to 18 months in federal prison for his role in a bribery scheme involving the Baldwin Park Police Association. The judge also imposed a $10,000 fine and ordered him to forfeit $219,755. The sentence followed Pacheco's guilty plea to federal program bribery and his cooperation with investigators examining corruption involving public officials in Southern California. The investigation exposed an extraordinary account of how a longtime elected official accepted payments in exchange for political support, directed checks through organizations he controlled and concealed tens of thousands of dollars in his own backyard. ### A police contract and $37,900 in bribes According to federal prosecutors, Pacheco solicited and received $37,900 between January and October 2018 from a Baldwin Park police officer acting at the FBI's direction. In exchange, Pacheco agreed to support and vote for a Baldwin Park Police Association contract worth at least $4.4 million over three years. He voted in favor of the agreement in March 2018. The payments included $20,000 in cash delivered in an envelope at a Baldwin Park coffee shop in October 2018. Another $17,900 came through checks Pacheco directed to his church and sham political action committees established in other people's names but controlled by him, according to the Justice Department. The officer who delivered the payments was cooperating with federal investigators. Prosecutors said he and another officer had approached the FBI and agreed to assist an ongoing public corruption investigation. The arrangement provided investigators with direct evidence of payments and the official actions prosecutors said Pacheco took in exchange. ### The money buried in the backyard One of the investigation's most unusual discoveries involved cash recovered during an FBI search. Federal authorities seized $83,145 in cash proceeds, including $62,900 that Pacheco said he had buried in two locations in his backyard. Pacheco agreed to forfeit the seized money as part of his federal plea agreement. The discovery became a striking detail in a case involving the intersection of political influence, government contracts and personal financial gain. But the buried cash was only one element of the broader investigation. ### A second corruption network involving cannabis permits Federal prosecutors also documented bribery involving Baldwin Park's commercial marijuana permitting program. The city began allowing marijuana cultivation, manufacturing and distribution in June 2017\. Prosecutors said Pacheco subsequently solicited bribes from businesses seeking development agreements and permits. Among those involved was Isaac Galvan, a former Compton city councilman who acted as a consultant for W&F International Corp., a Diamond Bar-based business seeking permission to operate in Baldwin Park. Galvan later admitted facilitating $70,000 in bribes to Pacheco from the company's owner, Yichang Bai. According to the Justice Department, Pacheco supported the company's permit applications and voted in favor of its marijuana permit in June and July 2018\. He subsequently supported the company's proposed relocation. Galvan and Bai used checks from third parties to conceal the source of payments. Following votes on the relocation, Pacheco sought additional money for a legal defense fundraiser. Prosecutors said Bai supplied another $20,000 through seven checks drawn on accounts not belonging to Bai or his company. Galvan was sentenced to 18 months in federal prison on the same day as Pacheco. Bai received a 20-month federal sentence in July 2026. The cannabis bribery investigation extended to additional public officials and intermediaries, creating a broader federal corruption case that reached beyond Baldwin Park. ### Resignation and cooperation Pacheco pleaded guilty in June 2020 and resigned from the Baldwin Park City Council that month under the terms of his plea agreement. His agreement required him to cooperate with federal prosecutors. When federal authorities publicly announced his guilty plea in January 2021, portions of the agreement remained redacted to protect ongoing investigations. Over the following years, prosecutors disclosed additional cases involving marijuana permitting and other public officials. The investigation eventually produced criminal proceedings involving individuals who had operated within or around Southern California municipal government. ### Questions beyond the conviction Pacheco's conviction establishes criminal wrongdoing involving the Baldwin Park police association contract. Federal proceedings also documented bribery schemes connected to the city's marijuana permitting process. Separate reporting and federal filings have raised questions about Pacheco's political relationships and employment at the West Valley Water District in San Bernardino County. Those water district allegations require separate examination. They should not be confused with the conduct underlying his federal conviction. For residents of Baldwin Park, the established criminal case raises a broader question about local government accountability: How could an elected official with more than two decades in public office solicit and accept payments tied to official decisions? Pacheco's prison sentence provides a legal conclusion to one portion of the investigation. The public record surrounding his political career, government relationships and the wider corruption network leaves additional questions for examination. *California Unsealed is continuing its review of federal court records, campaign finance disclosures and local government documents related to this investigation.*