California Town Hired Private Law Firm to Sue Citizens, Then Tried to Conceal Massive Costs
Fontana called them "zoning fees." They were actually demanding that residents repay the cost of prosecuting them for minor crimes.
Scott Shackford|May. 1, 2018 1:35 pm
Gimme the cashDmitry Rukhlenko / Dreamstime.comPeter Nolopp, now 79, pleaded guilty seven years ago to renting land for an illegal scrapyard. He paid a fine—$1,000—and cleaned it up. Three years later, the California city of Fontana sent him a bill demanding $29,000 to recoup the cost of his own prosecution.
$24,000 of that were listed as "zoning fees." In fact, they were legal fees billed by a private law firm, Silver & Wright, that Fontana had contracted to prosecute cases for the city.
http://reason.com/blog/2018/05/01/california-town-hired-private-law-firm-t
