Lawyer Reaping Millions Over Decades as a Cut of Tax Incentives

When attorney Robert E. Cendejas told Long Beach, California, officials in 2015 that he had connections to help land new jobs and tax revenue for the city, they were a little leery, even though he’d represented them for years as an outside adviser.

An unnamed company would bring its sales operations to Long Beach if the city would give back a portion of the additional local sales tax generated, he said. Several dozen California communities had struck similar deals, but this one had an unusual side arrangement: Cendejas proposed he would receive 20 percent of the sales tax rebates on ...