 RIVERSIDE (CNS) – A businessman involved in arrangements to illegally procure support from a former Palm Springs mayor for downtown development projects was sentenced Monday to a year of probation.  Richard Hugh Meaney, 59, pleaded guilty in 2023 to a misdemeanor count of financial conflict in a government contract. During a hearing at the Riverside
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Updated 7/2/25 1:17 p.m. BANNING, Calif. (KESQ)- Earlier today, former Palm Springs Mayor Pougent who admitted accepting six-figure bribes was sentenced to two years of probation with a $325k fine for his counts of bribery. In court the judge read statements from former council members Christopher Mills and Ginny Float requesting leniency on the sentencing
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BANNING, Calif. (KESQ) – Developer John Wessman was found not guilty of bribing former Palm Springs Mayor Steve Pougnet. A jury found Wessman not guilty on all charges, which included nine counts of bribery and one count of conspiracy. Wessman was accused of paying former Palm Springs Mayor Steve Pougnet more than $200,000 to secure city
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BANNING, Calif. (KESQ) – The jury has begun deliberations in the high-profile bribery trial of Palm Springs developer John Wessman. Closing arguments wrapped up Friday morning. Wessman faces nine counts of bribery and one count of conspiracy. He is accused of paying former Palm Springs Mayor Steve Pougnet more than $200,000 to secure city support
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BANNING, Calif. (KESQ) – An 86-year-old real estate developer accused of giving then-Palm Springs Mayor Steve Pougnet with six-figure bribes to win his support for projects violated the “public trust,” putting a politician in his pocket to satisfy his greed, a prosecutor said today, while the defense countered that the real corruption lies with a
Continue Reading BANNING, Calif. (KESQ) – The defense is slated to rest Thursday, setting the stage for closing arguments, in the trial of a real estate developer accused of enriching the one-time mayor of Palm Springs with six-figure bribes to cinch his support for downtown projects. Testimony in the trial of 86-year-old John Elroy Wessman got underway
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BANNING, Calif. (KESQ) – Opening statements began in the trial of a real estate developer accused of providing six-figure bribes to former Palm Springs Mayor Steve Pougnet, who pleaded guilty last week to a slate of felony charges connected to his support for the defendant’s projects. John Elroy Wessman, 86, is charged with nine counts
Continue Reading BANNING, Calif. (KESQ) – A jury is set in the high-profile public corruption case against developer John Wessman, who’s accused of bribing former Palm Springs Mayor Steve Pougnet in exchange for favorable treatment on city projects. Opening statements are set to start Monday at 9 a.m. at the Banning Justice Center. Wessman, 86, has pleaded
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PALM SPRINGS, Calif. (KESQ) Â – Reactions pouring in after former Palm Springs Mayor Steve Pougnet pleaded guilty in a bribery case stemming from an alleged scheme to buy off the mayor to ensure his support for a real estate developer’s projects. Palm Springs residents finding out just before Wednesday’s city council meeting. Some said the
Continue Reading BANNING, Calif. (KESQ) – Former Palm Springs Mayor Steve Pougnet pleaded guilty in a bribery case stemming from an alleged scheme to buy off the mayor to ensure his support for a real estate developer’s projects. Hear from former Palm Springs Mayors Robert Moon and Geoff Kors, who dealt with the fallout of the bribery
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BANNING, Calif. (KESQ) – Pretrial motions got underway today ahead of jury selection for the trial of one-time Palm Springs Mayor Steve Pougnet and a real estate developer, stemming from an alleged scheme to buy off the mayor to ensure his support for the businessman’s projects. Pougnet, 62, and John Elroy Wessman, 86, were criminally
Continue Reading Update – 5/1/25 After numerous years of delays, the bribery case involving former Palm Springs Mayor Steve Pougnet and developer John Wessman will go to trial. Jury selection is set to get underway on May 6 at the Banning Justice Center. News Channel 3’s Garrett Hottle spoke with Pougnet. We’ll have the latest on the
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New developments in a bribery case involving former Palm Springs Mayor Steve Pougnet that dates back more than a decade. Court records show that all but one charge against developer Richard Meaney were dropped at a hearing on March 24. Meaney was facing 11 charges tied to the Palm Springs corruption case. Check Out Our ‘Scandal at City Hall’
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A pretrial hearing for a real estate developer accused in a Palm Springs City Hall bribery scheme was postponed today at the request of the prosecution and defense. Â Â John Elroy Wessman, 83, is charged with nine counts of bribery of a public official and one count of conspiracy in connection with the alleged offenses,
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The California 4th District Court of Appeals has reversed a judge’s decision to drop the charges against one of the developers indicted in the bribery case of an ex-Palm Springs mayor. On Dec. 4, a judge dismissed charges against real estate developer John Wessman. Wessman was originally indicted on nine counts of bribery of an
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Richard Meaney, a co-defendant in a bribery case involving former Palm Springs Mayor Steve Pougnet, will again have access to his passport for international travel. A judge sided with Meaney’s attorney who argued that delays have caused hardships on the co-defendant. Meaney’s attorney told the court his client is in a ‘dire’ situation and facing
Continue Reading A judge has dismissed charges against John Wessman, one of the developers accused in the bribery case involving former Palm Springs mayor Steve Pougnet. BREAKING: Judge has dismissed charges against John Wessman, one of the developers accused in the bribery case involving former #PalmSprings mayor Steve Pougnet. Denies motion to dismiss charges for Pougnet and
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A court hearing was pushed back today for ex-Palm Springs Mayor Steve Pougnet and two Coachella Valley developers accused of buying his vote, at which attorneys for the defendants had been expected to argue for dismissal of the felony charges against their clients. Pougnet, 57, and developers Richard Hugh Meaney, 54, and John Elroy Wessman,
Continue Reading A judge has unsealed the grand jury transcripts in the corruption case against former Palm Springs Mayor Steve Pougnet and developers John Wessman and Richard Meaney. The grand jury transcript has three volumes and more than 700 pages. Our team is going through the documents, uncovering new facts on the Scandal at City Hall, a
Continue Reading A judge overseeing the corruption case against former Mayor Steve Pougnet, Developers John Wessman and Richard Meaney ruled Friday to unseal the grand jury transcripts, citing a lack of reasonable probability that the release would cause prejudice to the defendants. The judge agreed to set the unsealing date for March 4, per the defense’s request,
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