In a federal courtroom, former Compton City Councilman Isaac Galvan has entered a guilty plea to charges of bribery and tax evasion, as he admitted to bribing a Baldwin Park official to secure marijuana permits, and evading taxes on over half a million dollars in income. According to a statement from the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Central District of California, Galvan confessed to paying $70,000 in bribes to former Baldwin Park City Councilman Ricardo Pacheco, leveraging this corrupt deal to gain favorable votes and influence.
The detailed arrangement involved an import-export business, W&F International Corp., which sought to acquire permits for marijuana operations in the city of Baldwin Park. Galvan brokered his "consulting" services to funnel the illicit money from the company's owner, Yichang Bai, to Pacheco, in return for Pacheco's promise to vote for W&F's permits, as reported by this official release. Galvan, who remained on the Compton council until 2022, exploited his position to ensure Pacheco's support for these permits, which Pacheco indeed delivered with his votes in 2018.
Not only did Galvan work to facilitate this bribery, but he also went to great lengths to cover up the financial tracks. Court documents recount how he and Bai used checks from third parties to conceal the source of the money. Despite Bai's not guilty plea and planned trial in February 2026, Galvan’s admission unveils a narrative of backroom deals and deflected blame.
This case also zeroed in on Galvan's tax evasion, revealing that he failed to file federal returns for four years, effectively hiding about $560,525 of income. The monetary loss to the U.S. Treasury amounted to $115,816, a figure that only accentuates the shadowed pathways of Galvan's deceit. In the plea agreement, he agreed to a restitution payment of $323,557 to the IRS. As per United States District Judge Otis D. Wright II, Galvan anticipates sentencing on June 8, 2026, where he could be facing up to 10 years in prison on the bribery count and five years for tax evasion.
Further amplifying this tale of corruption, Ricardo Pacheco himself has pleaded guilty to a separate bribery count and is cooperating with the government's investigation. Pacheco’s own myriad of entanglements with unethical conduct came to light, following coercion from an undercover FBI-operated Baldwin Park Police officer. His sentencing is scheduled for March 30, 2026, as captured by the same justice department press release.
The probe into this public corruption continues with the involvement of the FBI and IRS Criminal Investigation. In the meantime, the public's watchdog role remains instrumental. The authorities encourage anyone with related information to step forth, either through the FBI's Electronic Tip Form or by calling the designated number, as noted by the office of Public Information Officer Ciaran McEvoy.
