Robert Dennis Pryce Jr.

Los Angeles attorney Robert Dennis Pryce Jr. was arrested yesterday on federal bribery, extortion and kickback charges in a probe centering on the City of Carson and a $60 million trash hauling contract.

U.S. Attorney Debra Yang called Pryce the "bagman" in a scheme to bribe Carson officials to award the lucrative 10-year trash deal to Browning Ferris Industries, Inc.
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Yang said a voting majority on the Carson city council used Pryce to solicit a bribe from BFI and later to deliver payments to the elected officials.
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Pryce, 52, a Chapter Seven bankruptcy trustee and a partner in the downtown firm of Pryce Parker Hill, was also accused of using his position to direct money from the sale of properties in bankruptcy estates to his daughter, who then allegedly returned much of the money to him.

Pryce is one of 47 lawyers and accountants on the bankruptcy trustee panel for the Central District of California.Panelists are appointed to supervise bankruptcy estates and the sale of assets.

Indictment a First

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Pryce, whose firm is located at 660 N. Figueroa, could not be reached for comment.

The U.S. Attorney's Office described him as a Tarzana lawyer.

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Pryce is said to have carried the offer to BFI.In January of this year, Pryce allegedly delivered $10,000 from BFI to Sweeney and Ontal and $5,000 to Frank, with additional payments to follow monthly.
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In addition to the Carson charges, Pryce was charged with defrauding the bankruptcy court and the U.S. trustee by arranging with real estate agent Nelson Shelton to hire his daughter, teacher Kelly Walecki.
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Pryce then allegedly got the bankruptcy court to approve the use of Shelton to sell properties in bankruptcy estates.
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Pryce also is charged with taking kickbacks from a construction company after he hired the firm to do repairs on various properties in bankruptcy estates.

Pryce was indicted on nine counts of "honest services" mail fraud, nine counts of bankruptcy fraud, four counts of making false statements to the bankruptcy court, and 10 counts of money laundering.

U.S. District Court Judge Percy Anderson sentenced Robert Dennis Pryce, a partner at Pryce Parker Hill LLP, in downtown federal court.
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Pryce had pleaded guilty two years ago to two counts of conspiracy, two counts of paying bribes, six counts of mail fraud and six counts of money laundering in a scheme to extort money from Waste Management Inc. and Browning Ferris Industries Inc., which agreed to pay $585,000 to city officials in order to obtain the contract.
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Pryce also pleaded guilty to nine counts of mail fraud, nine counts of bankruptcy fraud, four counts of making false statements to a bankruptcy court and ten counts of money laundering in a separate case involving kickbacks with real estate firm Nelson Shelton and Associates.In those deals, which took place for three years beginning in 1996, Pryce negotiated to have Nelson sell properties over which he served as bankruptcy trustee.His daughter was paid $310,000 in commissions, with Pryce pocketing $130,000 of that money.

He also took kickbacks from a contractor, Scorza and Sons Construction Services, which performed work for free at his home and his mother's and sister's homes.

The federal investigation was assisted by the Internal Revenue Service's criminal investigation division, the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the U.S. Trustee's Office.