A Los Angeles man was sentenced Monday to three years of probation for his role in a scheme in which the former chief of police of a southeastern San Diego County tribe accepted more than $300,000 in bribes in exchange for badges that gave benefactors the right to carry concealed firearms.
Akiva Grunewald, 46, pleaded guilty in February to one count of bribery for paying the then-police chief $20,000 in exchange for a badge, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office.
He was sentenced Monday in Los Angeles federal court.
Anthony Reyes Vazquez, 52, former chief of the Manzanita Tribal Police Department, pleaded guilty to taking cash from the Manzanita Band of the Kumeyaay Nation as part of the scheme to sell police department membership to dozens of unqualified individuals. He was sentenced in San Diego federal court last week to a combination of 10 months of home confinement, 12 consecutive weekends in custody, and three years of probation.
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Prosecutors said Vazquez and other tribal police officers recruited wealthy people from the Los Angeles area to become so-called officers. Despite having little to no law enforcement experience, those people paid anywhere from $5,000 to $100,000 in "donations" to obtain police privileges including the right to concealed carry weapons permits.
More than $700,000 in "donations" were solicited throughout the scheme, with Vazquez keeping about $300,000 out of those payments, prosecutors said. He also paid kickbacks to recruiters and paid himself around $2,000 per month as reimbursement for travel expenses from his Oxnard home to the reservation.
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The case led to federal charges against Grunewald and Colin Gilbert, 81, of Marina del Rey for buying or selling the phony badges.
In 2018, Grunewald gave Vazquez $20,000 to obtain a police badge, despite having no law enforcement training or experience. Prosecutors said he wanted the badge in order to carry concealed weapons.
After obtaining the badge, Grunewald -- who admitted being a drug addict and unlawful user of oxycodone and other narcotics at the time -- was pulled over by Culver City police after an officer saw him run across a busy street and enter a black Range Rover that was missing a front license plate, had tinted windows, and had a rear license plate that belonged to a different car.
During the traffic stop, Grunewald displayed his Manzanita PD badge and identified himself as a police officer, prosecutors said. Grunewald "was shaking visibly, sweating, and appeared extremely nervous," his plea agreement states.
The police officer asked Grunewald to exit the vehicle after Grunewald said he was carrying a firearm on his right hip. During a search of the vehicle and Grunewald, law enforcement recovered two loaded firearms, about 43 oxycodone pills, a police gun belt with handcuffs, a collapsible baton, a tactical vest, pepper spray, and numerous other badges and credentials associated with other law enforcement agencies, according to federal prosecutors.
Gilbert pleaded guilty in downtown Los Angeles to making false statements and was sentenced in April to a year's probation. He was also ordered to pay a $20,000 fine.
