6th Person Charged in Schools Bribery Case
LOS ANGELES — The Grand Jury indicted a sixth defendant in a bribery case involving Los Angeles Unified School District maintenance workers and painting contractors charged with taking bribes and embezzling thousands of dollars in federal and school repair funds.
Mihail Koulakis, 41, of Granada Hills pleaded not guilty Tuesday in Los Angeles Superior Court to one count of bribing a ministerial officer, said Thomas Krag, a deputy district attorney who declined to discuss specifics.
Koulakis is owner of Nike Construction in Sylmar. Four of the five other defendants pleaded not guilty last week to charges ranging from accepting cars and boats from painting contractors in exchange for bids, to approving payment for uncompleted work at several San Fernando Valley and Harbor-area schools. The alleged crimes occurred between 1995 and 1997.
The 10-page indictment named L.A. Unified employees Billie Joe Simily, 59, of Pasadena; Richard Steinfeld, 53, of Apple Valley; Charles Cline, 60, of Baldwin Hills; and contractors Damianos Hadjidamianou, 42, of North Hills and Panagiotis Adamopoulos, 38, of Northridge. An arrest warrant has been issued for Hadjidamianou.
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