The treasurer is normally the most conservative, low-key, least known, uncontroversial elected or appointed official in city government. The city treasurer is a dull money wonk who rarely speaks in public and who seldom, if ever, makes the news. But this is not the case in one city.

Yes, that city is Inglewood.

Wanda Brown, the usually soft-spoken, taciturn treasurer of Inglewood for the past 22 years, has been on a seven-year mission that came to an explosive head in Tuesday’s City Council meeting when she angrily accused Councilman Daniel Tabor of corruption in connection with a bond underwriting contract the city entered into with a company that has a checkered past.

Over Brown’s vehement objections, the Inglewood City Council approved a $24 million bond deal with Rice Financial Products in December to underwrite the city’s lease revenue refunding bonds for the Inglewood Civic Center. Rice, an extremely well connected Black-owned firm, had sought to do business with Inglewood in 2002 and 2004, but was rebuffed by the council upon the advice of City Treasurer Brown, who was put off by the firm’s involvement in a bribery scandal that led to the conviction and imprisonment of former Inglewood and Carson elected officials.

Tyrone Smith, a director of the West Basin Municipal Water District in Carson pleaded guilty in 2003 to accepting $25,000 in 2001 to steer a pair of contracts to Rice, and Inglewood’s former 4th District Councilman Garland Hardeman was also sentenced to federal prison for accepting $50,000 to be a “consultant” and funnel money to key elected officials for the approval of Rice contracts, according to U.S. Attorney plea agreement records.

As the result of the bribe, Smith admitted that he not only voted on the water board in Rice’s favor, but blocked efforts to hire an independent consultant to review the deal, instead hiring a company said to have been recommended by Rice. The water board’s chairman at the time, R. Keith McDonald, was a key to the Smith case, but he was already under federal investigation for accepting numerous bribes and kickbacks to approve other water district contracts and was not indicted in the Rice deal.

Although the U.S. attorney did indict Smith, Hardeman and McDonald, prosecutors did not pursue charges against Rice and other private companies alleged to have greased the elected officials. West Basin, however, took legal action against Rice and won. Don Dear, former president of the water board, said that in the first year of his agency’s bond swap deal with Rice, the water board saved $800,000, but Rice made $8 million.

The water board went to court over Rice’s excessive profits and the judge rendered the deal null and void. The water board then filed suit against Rice for unreasonable profits, which was ultimately settled. In its lawsuit, West Basin named Tony Stovall as the individual who directed Hardeman to pay the bribe to Smith. Stovall is a partner in Rice Financial Products and is the man who appeared before the Inglewood City Council urging it to do business with Rice.

“We were pressured intensely and called racists by people all over the country who wanted us to drop the suit,” Dear said. “I received calls from Jesse Jackson, Yvonne Burke, Kevin Murray and the like urging us to drop the suit so the company would retain some credibility.”

Brown presented a complete dossier of this and other information about Rice and its operatives to the Inglewood City Council when the company came calling for business in 2002 and 2004 and the panel listened to her. But when the matter came up again in 2008, she was ignored and she did not like that.

“I sent the council members letters detailing my objections to Rice in January and in March and both times they did not respond,” Brown said. “I have to do my job and now I am forced to go public with this issue which I, and anyone else which my fiscal responsibilities, believe is wrong. Why would a council award such a deal to a company like this?”

The treasurer has repeatedly and vociferously challenged the council this year about its selection of Rice and has publicly accused Councilman Tabor of “being on the take” for Rice.

“The council voted against Rice twice when Tabor was not on the council. Tabor, who is well known for his financial troubles, is now on the council and suddenly the council votes for Rice,” Brown said. “It fits the pattern and he hasn’t denied it.”

Brown had openly pointed her finger at Tabor in at least four council meetings and two community town hall meetings and he has never responded to her accusations.

At Tuesday’s council meeting, Brown asked Tabor if he had received any benefits directly or indirectly as the result of Rice getting the city’s bond deal, if he had been promised any benefits and if he had, in fact, sold his vote to Rice. Spectators said Tabor offered his first response ever to Brown’s challenges, by saying: “I do not have to answer to Wanda Brown.”

Councilwoman Judy Dunlap — the only council member who spoke — said Brown was attacking Tabor only because he is up for re-election Tuesday.

Brown countered that she has been fighting to protect the city against Rice for seven years and she’s not trying to remove Tabor, she’s trying to remove Rice.

Tabor told me Monday that his financial difficulties are no different from those many Americans are suffering these days and he denied being on the take. “If the court didn’t take away Rice’s license to practice and we’re comfortable that we know what we’re looking for in a financial firm, then Rice and any other firm that is duly licensed can compete for our business,” Tabor said.

Brown is circulating a petition throughout the city urging the council to rescind its deal with Rice and she said she plans to direct her concerns to the county, state and federal authorities who investigated, indicted and tried the other officials connected to previous Rice contracts.

“I have no doubts that money has been given or promised for this deal,” Brown said. “You don’t give this kind of contract to a company with these kinds of red flags.”