SANTA ANA : 2 Are Arrested on Bribery Allegations
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Two women suspected of offering a bribe to state officials to approve an alcohol license were arrested Tuesday after a monthlong investigation, authorities said.
Santa Ana police, working with the state Alcoholic Beverage Control board, arrested Francisca Zavala, 30, of Santa Ana and Ana Isabel Martinez, 24, of Anaheim on suspicion of bribery, police spokeswoman Maureen Haacker said.
During meetings monitored by authorities, the two women allegedly paid an ABC investigator $2,000 in return for his assurance that an alcohol license would be approved for El Tapatio, a Mexican restaurant in Anaheim, Haacker said. Martinez also was alleged to have offered $1,000 to an Anaheim police officer to secure an entertainment permit for El Tapatio.
Zavala, a self-described consultant for Latinos applying for alcohol licenses, allegedly made other offers to the ABC investigator in exchange for approval of several pending applications, Haacker said.
The case is still under investigation.
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