The San Diego District Attorney's office announced that a former San Diego County employee violated government regulations by using his public position to get contracts for his wife, which is punishable by up to three years in prison.
Rolf Bishop, 73, was chief information officer at the county office of Appraisals and Records until a year ago. The prosecution says that from March 2017 until he retired, he asked to outsource his wife's business.
Bishop signed the paychecks he wrote for his wife, and her employees.
Prosecutor Summer Stephan estimates that the Bishops made hundreds of thousands of dollars in profits from those contracts, though without mentioning a specific amount.
The prosecution charged Bishop with criminal conduct as a government official.
“The defendant, or anyone who works for the government, has a duty not to violate the public trust by using their position to illegally line their own pockets,” said District Attorney Stephan.
“Public corruption at all levels of government must be investigated and prosecuted when the evidence meets the high burden of proof under the law,” he added.
Bishop will have a preliminary hearing on May 10 in Superior Court. If you plead not guilty and are proven guilty, you could go to prison and have to pay a fine.
It is unknown if the court will allow his conditional release on bail.
