Robert Rizzo's lawyer says no laws were broken in Bell scandal

Outside court, the former city administrator's attorney admits it will be difficult to persuade the judge in the preliminary hearing to drop the 54 corruption charges against Rizzo.

Former Bell Chief Administrative Officer Robert Rizzo will not challenge most of the facts in the corruption case against him but instead will lean on the simple argument that everything he did was legal, his attorney said.

As Rizzo's preliminary hearing on 54 corruption charges began on Tuesday, James Spertus told Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Henry J. Hall that the question was "whether the core facts constitute a violation of the penal code."

Spertus said he had a tough road ahead. "I don't have any illusion we'll convince the judge at this stage," he said in an interview outside the courtroom.

Rizzo is one of eight current or former city leaders charged in the wide-ranging corruption case. Six others, including nearly every member of the City Council, have been ordered to stand trial for misappropriation of funds, and Rizzo's former assistant, Angela Spaccia, is charged with looting the city treasury.

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