The alleged pay to play corruption case in the South Bay expanded Monday to include new charges filed against a former administrator and a former contractor for Southwestern College.
Monday’s arraignment of Paul Bunton and Nick Alioto was part of an ongoing investigation that involved raids and charges against current and former board members of the Sweetwater Union High School District.
The charges filed Monday centered on voter approved bond money for Southwestern College.
Work on the corner lot, as it is called, at the college was placed on hold despite a multi-million dollar contract for design work awarded under Proposition R to the firm of Paul Bunton.
Bunton did not appear in court Monday but the judge accepted a guilty plea to a misdemeanor charge that Bunton aided in the commission of a misdemeanor.
His action triggered reporting responsibilities by college officials.
One of the alleged officials, the former vice president of business affairs at Southwestern College, pleaded not guilty through his attorney Monday.
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Nick Alioto faces two felony charges and one misdemeanor including perjury and filing a false document.
Southwestern College, which has a new president, postponed some of the Prop R projects. Administrators have said they want to get more feedback from the community as to what people really want there.
Bunton faces a maximum of six months in jail and a $1,000 fine when he’s sentenced on June 19.
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