SAN BERNARDINO >> Former Councilman Chas Kelley was sentenced Friday to five years probation and 90 days of weekend jail time served in a work-release program.
The sentencing is based on an agreement Kelley made in exchange for to one count of felony perjury, which required him to resign from the City Council seat he had held for 10 years and left him ineligible for any future public office.
If he violates the terms of his probation, Kelley could serve up to four years in prison.
Prosecutors say that from July 2006 to June 2012 Kelley took $74,222 that was given to his campaign and used it for personal expenses, and filed repeated false campaign statements during that time to hide it.
The exact amount is in dispute but is mostly moot, Kelley’s attorney, Greg Kassel, said Friday. Those who gave the money can seek restitution, but Kassel said indications are that none of them will do so.
Kelley must also pay a fine of $280 plus a 10 percent administrative fee, which at Kassel’s request will be repaid at a rate of at least $35 per month rather than at least $50 per month.
Kelley, 44, arrived in the courtroom 10 minutes before sentencing and stood, holding the back of a bench and looking straight ahead, until speaking briefly with Kassel and then sitting beside him. His only words during the sentencing were a soft “yes, your Honor” and “no, your Honor” before he left through a side door without speaking to reporters.
Kassel said after the hearing that Kelley did want to apologize to the 5th Ward he’d represented and to the city.
“He is obviously very remorseful, and he wants to put this behind him,” Kassel said after the sentencing.
Kelley was considered a front-runner in the Nov. 5 mayoral campaign until he resigned the day of his guilty plea, Oct. 17.
The investigation began in October 2011 after a tip that Kelley and other city officials may be involved in criminal activity, according to the affidavit filed by Schyler Beaty, a senior investigator with the district attorney’s Public Integrity Unit.
During an interview in May, according to the affidavit, Schyler presented evidence of “multiple felonies” and Kelley immediately said three times, “I understand I’m in trouble.”
Kelley’s campaign treasurer — his wife Teri — filled out the campaign reports using information provided by her husband and did not sign them, make withdrawals or deposits, or write checks off the campaign account, according to the affidavit.
Kelley, who emerged from bankruptcy in 2001, became unemployed when his boss — then-County Supervisor Neil Derry — lost a re-election bid in 2012. Kelley has been using his county retirement account to pay personal bills, according to the affidavit.
San Bernardino Superior Court Judge Annemarie Pace gave Kelley credit for one day served, and agreed he could begin the sentence on Jan. 24.
