Faqih, a civil engineer working as a public employee at the Orange County Resources and Development Management Department, was convicted of receiving $2,500 in cash and checks from an independent construction contractor as a bribe for speeding up the review process of pool permit applications.  Faqih pleaded guilty to five counts of a public official receiving a bribe and was sentenced to 300 hours of community service, three years of formal probation, was ordered to pay restitution, and is permanently disqualified from holding a public office or being employed by any government agency in the state of California.