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City Of Bell Sues Former Police Chief For Working Without Valid Contract

LOS ANGELES (AP/CBS) — The city of Bell filed a countersuit Tuesday against former Police Chief Randy Adams for allegedly working without a proper employment contract and being paid an exorbitant salary, exceeding the income of many big-city police chiefs.

The city claims Adams' employment contract was void since former Chief Administrative Officer Robert Rizzo allegedly failed to get the city council's approval on the ex-chief's employment.

The lawsuit also contends Adams was paid an "outrageous" yearly salary of $457,000, according to city spokeswoman Magdalena Prado.

"The public should know that the City of Bell will no longer be a cash cow for individuals like Randy Adams. It is shameful that individuals that were supposed to safeguard the city, yet appeared to blatantly violate codes they were sworn to uphold, continue to try to abuse us," said Mayor Ali Saleh.

The suit also seeks to have Adams repay his annual salary and Bell's legal fees and settlement costs for a police department whistleblower who sued the city alleging retaliation from the chief.

The countersuit is in response to a lawsuit filed by Adams in July. He claims he's owned severance pay that wasn't given to him when he was fired as police chief.

Adams also said he was defamed by city officials when they claimed he was making more than $770,000 a year and nearly $77,000 in benefits.

Meantime, eight ex-Bell city officials are awaiting trial on misappropriation of public funds, among other charges.

(TM and © Copyright 2012 CBS Local Media, a division of CBS Radio Inc. and its relevant subsidiaries. CBS RADIO and EYE Logo TM and Copyright 2012 CBS Broadcasting Inc. Used under license. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)

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