Ex-LA utility head admits taking bribes in billing scandal

LOS ANGELES (AP) — The former head of the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power has agreed to plead guilty to taking bribes in a corruption scandal. Federal prosecutors said Monday that David Wright will plead guilty to one count of bribery and has admitted other corrupt acts. Wright was the top executive of the nation’s largest public utility during a billing fiasco that stuck hundreds of thousands of customers with excessively high bills. Prosecutors say Wright accepted bribes from a lawyer hired to help resolve that crisis. They also say Wright pushed through a $30 million no-bid contract for the lawyer’s company without revealing how he would benefit.