Five officials held in LA corruption scandal

Suspicions of widespread corruption among public officials in Compton, the Los Angeles suburb synonymous with drive-by shootings and gangsta rap, came to a head with the arrest of the former mayor, the current city manager and three out of five city council members on charges of misusing public funds.

The key arrest was of Omar Bradley, who ruled Compton from 1993 to 2001 and for the past two years has been fighting over the legality of the election he narrowly lost two years ago. The four others arrested yesterday are all close associates of his.

The Los Angeles district attorney's office has been investigating corruption in Compton for the past three years and is believed to have uncovered widespread evidence that city credit cards were used to bankroll trips to Las Vegas and Florida, expensive dental work, hotels, rental cars and a limousine – none of it in connection with city business.

Eric Perrodin, the current mayor and a sworn enemy of Mr Bradley, works for the district attorney as a prosecutor. He now hopes to assert his own majority on the city council and sweep away the last remnants of the Bradley era.