Ex-Palm Springs Mayor Admits Accepting Bribes from Developers

Luis Medina BANNING, Calif. (KUNA) – Former Palm Springs Mayor Steve Pougnet has pleaded guilty to bribery in a case involving an alleged scheme to buy off the mayor and secure his support for a real estate developer’s projects. Pougnet, 62, pleaded guilty to eight counts of accepting bribes, eight counts of unlawful financial interest in public contracts, and one count of conspiracy. He pleaded no contest to three counts of perjury, the Distric…

BANNING, Calif. (KUNA) – Former Palm Springs Mayor Steve Pougnet has pleaded guilty to bribery in a case involving an alleged scheme to buy off the mayor and secure his support for a real estate developer’s projects. Pougnet, 62, pleaded guilty to eight counts of accepting bribes, eight counts of unlawful financial interest in public contracts, and one count of conspiracy. He pleaded no contest to three counts of perjury, the District Attorney’s…

Ex-Palm Springs Mayor Admits Accepting Bribes from Developers

Former Palm Springs Mayor Steve Pougnet pleaded guilty Wednesday to accepting bribes from at least one real estate developer to secure support for projects on the council’s agenda, but the man accused of furnishing the funds maintains his innocence, with testimony likely to begin in his trial before the end of the month. Pretrial proceedings began for Pougnet, 62, and John Elroy Wessman, 86, last week, and formal jury selection for their trial w…

Former Palm Springs mayor pleads guilty in bribery case ⋆ The Palm Springs Post

Steve Pougnet (inset), a former Palm Springs mayor, entered a plea Wednesday directly with the court. Former Palm Springs Mayor Steve Pougnet has admitted to multiple bribery charges tied to allegations that he accepted payments in return for backing certain real estate development proposals. Pougnet, 62, pleaded guilty to eight counts of accepting bribes and eight counts of holding a prohibited financial interest in public contracts on Wednesda…