San Bernardino City Councilman Pleads Guilty to Perjury, Resigns, Faces 90 Days Jail

A San Bernardino city council member who was running for mayor in the Nov. 5 election was charged Thursday with failing to disclose monetary campaign contributions in San Bernardino Superior Court, a District Attorney's spokesman said.

Chas Kelley, 44, of San Bernardino, pleaded guilty to one count of perjury and will spend 90 days in county jail and five years on probation, Christopher Lee of the D.A.'s Office said.

"The investigation, which led to the filing of charges and the subsequent conviction, was initiated by complaints San Bernardino County District Attorney investigators received in 2011," Lee said. "After further investigation, the amount of under-reported monetary contributions Kelley failed to disclose was $74,222.76."

According to Lee, Kelley made the following statement after his guilty plea:

"I freely, voluntarily, knowingly and intelligently, admit that: From on or about January 31, 2007, through July 30, 2012, on numerous occasions, I committed perjury, by falsely stating as true the amount of money I was depositing to and withdrawing from my Friends of Chas Kelley campaign account, on the Fair Political Practices Commission Form 460 that I filed or caused to be filed for the reporting periods that occurred between July 1, 2006, to June 30, 2012, so I could hide the fact that I was using that money improperly for non-campaign related purposes."

As a result of his guilty plea to perjury, Kelley has resigned from public office and he is precluded from holding any future elected or appointed position, according to District Attorney Michael Ramos.

"The citizens of this county expect and deserve that the officials they put into office are working in the best interests of the public, not their own," Ramos said. "Let this be yet another warning that public corruption will not be tolerated in the county of San Bernardino."

Deputy District Attorney Reza Sadeghi prosecuted the case. Sentencing is scheduled at 2 p.m. Dec. 13 in San Bernardino Superior Court.