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SANTA ANA, Calif. – A Westminster city council member has been charged with one misdemeanor count of bribery of one of the City’s parking control officers in an effort to avoid having her husband’s Jeep towed from a City street.
Amy Phan West, 42, of Westminster, is alleged to have been running a car rental business connected through the Turo application near the area of Dorothy Street and Melanie Lane in the City of Westminster. Over the course of 2023, Westminster parking officials responded to more than 20 calls for service for dirty, unregistered, or abandoned vehicles at the location.
In April 2023, two parking control officers were dispatched to the location in reference to an abandoned Jeep which was left parked on a City street. The Jeep was registered to Phan West’s husband.
After the parking control officers requested a tow truck to tow the Jeep, Phan West is accused of identifying herself and telling the parking control officers not to tow the vehicle and she would move it herself. She is also accused of telling the parking control officers how much she loves the Westminster Police Department, that she is close friends with the Westminster police chief, and that she is in the process of getting raises for police department personnel.
The City Council was engaged in contract negotiations with the Westminster Police Officers’ Association at the time.
Phan West is also accused of showing the parking control officers a Westminster Police Department keychain.
After her statements, the parking officials called to cancel the tow truck and left the abandoned Jeep parked on the street.
Phan West is scheduled to be arraigned on February 24, 2025, at the Steven K. Tamura Justice Center in Westminster.
“The law applies equally to everyone, including elected officials. Holding elective office does not entitle anyone to a separate set of rules and any attempt to engage in corruption, bribery, or any other crime under the shroud of elective office will be thoroughly investigated and any and all crimes that have been committed will be prosecuted by my office to the fullest extent of the law,” said Orange County District Attorney Todd Spitzer.
Deputy District Attorney Matthew Bradbury of Special Prosecutions is prosecuting this case.
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