Administrator’s Note: This in-depth article was published earlier this week.
By Tim Reid and Cezary Podkul and Ryan McNeill
SAN BERNARDINO, California | Tue Nov 13, 2012 7:58am EST
(Reuters) – When this sun-drenched exurb east of Los Angeles filed for bankruptcy protection in August, the city attorney suggested fraudulent accounting was the root of the problem.
The mayor blamed a dysfunctional city council and greedy police and fire unions. The unions blamed the mayor. Even now, there is little agreement on how the city got into this crisis or how it can extricate itself.