Former Los Angeles City Councilor Jose Huizar pleaded not guilty to bribery and other federal charges, claiming he received cash and other benefits from developers seeking favorable treatment on upcoming real estate development projects.
Huizar, 52, from Boyle Heights has a hearing on June 22nd. This is the result of a federal investigation into alleged widespread corruption in Los Angeles City Hall that also implicated political activists, lobbyists and the former director general of the Los Angeles Department of Building and Security.
A message requesting a comment from Huizar’s federal public defense attorney was not immediately replied to.
Huizar was charged in July on a 34-point indictment alleging a conspiracy to violate the Racketeer-Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act, accusing him of consenting to illegal financial gain of at least 1 To accept $ 5 million. The extortion charges allege 402 overt acts allegedly alleged by Huizar and his co-conspirators to be committed to promoting their criminal enterprise, including bribery, honest service fraud and money laundering.
A 41-count indictment unsealed last month increases the number of RICO conspiracies by 50 overt acts. The number of blackmailers is also indicting Raymond Chan, who became the city’s deputy mayor for economic development after serving as director general of the Ministry of Construction and Security.
In addition to the RICO conspiracy charges, the indictment lists 14 cases of honest service fraud, two cases of honest service email scams and false testimony to federal law enforcement agencies, four cases of interstate travel in support of extortion, and nine Bribery cases listed, five money laundering cases and one tax evasion case each, structuring of cash deposits to hide bribes, misrepresentation to a financial institution and alteration of records in a federal investigation. Each of the defendants is charged in different counts.
“The level of corruption described in these charges is staggering,” US attorney Nick Hanna said last week when Chan was charged.
“As the indictment alleges, Huizar, Chan and their network of employees have repeatedly violated the public’s trust by soliciting and accepting numerous bribes and other financial benefits, turning the Huizar City Council seat into a criminal enterprise, money deserved, “said Hanna. “High-performing developers, working through well-connected lobbyists, eagerly participated in the programs to get preferential treatment for their downtown projects. This detailed indictment, which exposes these backroom deals, should spark a serious discussion about whether significant reforms are warranted in the Los Angeles city government. “
George Esparza, Huizar’s former special assistant, and real estate development consultant George Chiang pleaded guilty to participating in the RICO conspiracy earlier this year. The indictment adds overt acts to the RICO conspiracy alleging that CD-14 corporate members – Huizar represented District 14 of the council – illegally solicited political contributions from foreigners to help maintain the company’s political power.
Among the numerous corruption allegations, the charges related that Huizar illegally accepted more than $ 800,000 in benefits from the billionaire chairman and president of a global development company, mainly during luxury gambling trips. At the request of Huizar and Chan, and after Huizar helped save Chan’s position in the city by helping to prevent a proposed merger that would have eliminated Chan’s division, Huang provided $ 600,000 in collateral to fund the settlement of a sexual harassment lawsuit filed against Huizar by a former CD-14 employee, allegations that the indictment said threatened his 2015 re-election campaign.
At the time it was reportedly providing these benefits, the Chinese developer was planning to convert the LA Grand Hotel into the tallest tower west of the Mississippi, which would require the city’s approval and Huizar’s help. When Chan was later questioned by FBI agents about the settlement of the lawsuit, Chan lied about his participation in the secret payment arrangement, prosecutors claim.
Chan has also faced multiple charges of bribery and honest service fraud for allegedly agreeing to accept more than $ 100,000 from Chiang as deputy mayor for official acts on behalf of a development project.
The RICO conspiracy, honest service fraud, disability, and money laundering all have a maximum sentence of 20 years in federal prison.
The charge for providing false information against a financial institution is a maximum of 30 years, while the charge for bribery has a maximum sentence of 10 years in federal prison. Charges of tax evasion, structuring, making false statements to law enforcement agencies, and traveling between states for the benefit of extortion are for a maximum of five years in prison.
In addition to Esparza, Chiang and political fundraiser Justin Jangwoo Kim, Morris Goldman, a longtime city hall lobbyist, pleaded guilty to participating in a bribery program in which a developer agreed to make political donations in exchange for Huizar’s support for a project in the City to afford art district.
The conviction hearings are scheduled for February 8 for Esparza, February 22 for Chiang and Kim, and August 23 for Goldman.
In another unrelated Huizar case, former Los Angeles city councilor Mitchell Englander pleaded guilty in July for attempting to forge material facts related to trips to Las Vegas and Palm Springs that he was involved in Cash and Other Perks from a Business Person.
The Englander hearing is scheduled for January 25th.