Former Los Angeles Councilman José Huizar will surrender today, October 7, to the Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) to begin his 13-year prison sentence, after being convicted of accepting bribes from downtown developers and evade taxes.
Huizar had been ordered to surrender on August 30, but was granted a five-week extension for “just cause.” Documents filed in federal court indicate that Huizar based his extension request on “a new, unexpected and extraordinary event,” apparently related to undisclosed medical reasons. The government did not oppose the request, according to the documents.
Huizar, 56, pleaded guilty in January 2023 to charges of conspiracy to violate the Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO) and tax evasion.
In addition to the 13-year sentence, Huizar was ordered to pay nearly $444,000 in restitution to the city of Los Angeles and about $39,000 to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). According to a court document signed by the judge in February, Huizar paid the latter amount in full.
As of Monday morning, Huizar still did not appear on the BOP’s online locator. His lawyer declined to comment.
Huizar’s co-defendant, former Los Angeles Vice Mayor Raymond Chan, was sentenced Friday to 12 years in federal prison for acting as a middleman in the $1.5 million City Hall bribery scheme with downtown skyscraper developers. .
Chan, 68, of Monterey Park, was convicted in March by a jury in federal court in Los Angeles of a dozen felonies: one count of conspiracy to violate the RICO Act, seven counts of honest services wire fraud , three counts of bribery and one count of making false statements to a federal government agency.
U.S. District Judge John Walter ordered him to pay $752,457 in restitution to the city of Los Angeles, and surrender to the BOP no later than Jan. 6 to begin his sentence.
Huizar represented Council District 14, which includes downtown Los Angeles and its surrounding communities, from 2005 until his resignation in 2020. According to his attorneys, Huizar was “an evangelist for robust development,” in an effort to ensure that Los Angeles was worthy of a “world-class city.”
Huizar admitted to operating a “pay-to-play” scheme, in which he and others illegally used his office to provide favorable treatment to real estate developers who financed and facilitated cash bribes, donations campaign and other illicit benefits.
Federal prosecutors said Huizar monetized his position and leveraged his political influence to obtain more than $1.5 million in cash bribes, casino chips, luxury trips, political contributions, prostitutes, extravagant meals, services, concerts and other gifts.
“If anyone dared to refuse his call to pay bribes, he punished them and their projects in the city, threatening developers with indefinite delays in their projects and financial ruin,” according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
Chan acted as the middleman who orchestrated the kickbacks to Huizar from the developers, lining his pockets with at least $750,000 in the process. A letter filed in court by the City Attorney’s Office stated that “the reputational damage Chan caused (to the local government) is profound and will not be easily overcome.”
Federal prosecutors said that while Huizar “may have been the face of the ‘pay-to-play’ scheme, (Chan) was the mastermind behind some of the more sophisticated aspects” of the conspiracy.
For example, Chan organized what prosecutors called “the largest bribe payment obtained in the scheme”: the $600,000 back channel from a billionaire real estate developer that Huizar used to confidentially settle a sexual harassment claim brought by a former employee. The bribe, structured by Chan, “was shrouded in layers of cover-up,” according to court documents.
The developer, Wei Huang, was also charged in the case, but is considered a fugitive and believed to be in China.
Chan worked for the city for more than three decades, much of that time in the Department of Building and Safety, where he rose to general manager. In 2016, he was hired by then-Mayor Eric Garcetti to serve as deputy mayor for economic development, overseeing the Department of Planning, Building and Safety, and other city agencies.
Members and associates of the scheme included lobbyists, consultants, and other city officials and employees, who sought to enrich themselves, their families, and associates in exchange for official acts. They included George Esparza, Huizar’s former special assistant, real estate development consultant George Chiang, political fundraiser Justin Jangwoo Kim and lobbyist Morrie Goldman, among others. They all pleaded guilty and agreed to cooperate with the government investigation.
Before Huizar pleaded guilty to federal charges, he and Chan were scheduled to go to trial together. A mistrial was declared last year in Chan’s first trial due to a medical emergency by the defense attorney.
Original story:
Disgraced former LA councilmember Jose Huizar heading to prison for corruption
