Englander Begins 14-Month Sentence At Federal Prison

NORTHRIDGE, CA — Former Northridge Councilman Mitchell Englander has begun serving his 14-month sentence at a federal penitentiary in Arizona, prison records show.

Englander, 50, was sentenced in January for trying to obstruct an investigation into a lavish trip to Las Vegas provided by a businessman hoping to be introduced to people who might buy his products. Englander is the first to be sentenced in a sprawling six-year probe of government corruption that has ensnared former Councilmember Jose Huizar, former Deputy Mayor Raymond Chan, and many others.

The ex-councilman was also ordered to serve three years under supervised release following his prison term and pay a $15,000 fine. Englander represented CD12 in the West Valley from July 2011 until an abrupt resignation in December 2018 when investigators began looking into his activities.

He pleaded guilty in July 2020 to falsifying material facts, and as part of a plea deal admitted lying to investigators over the course of three interviews.

At his sentencing, U.S. District Judge John F. Walter said "greed and arrogance" appeared to be the motivation for "brazenly" lying to the FBI repeatedly on three separate occasions and that Englander, 50, had damaged "the public's trust in government."

Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti said he approved the ruling. “If you break the law, it doesn’t matter who you are or what your title is, be prepared to pay the price,” he said.

Englander will serve his term at the USP Tucson until May 28, 2022, according to information from the Federal Bureau of Prisons. Englander will serve his time at a minimum security satellite facility to a high-security penitentiary, Federal Bureau of Prisons spokesperson Scott Taylor told the Los Angeles Times.

Meanwhile, former Councilmember Jose Huizar, who has pleaded not guilty to a 41-count racketeering indictment alleging that he accepted $1.5 million in bribes from developers in exchange for support of building projects downtown, won’t begin his trial until May 2022, when Englander is likely to get out.

The judge overseeing his corruption case recently agreed to prosecuting and defense attorneys’ requests to postpone the trial one year due to the pandemic and an excess of evidentiary material, including more than 2 million pages of reports, and 260 hours of audio recordings, according to prosecutors.

Current District 12 Councilmember John Lee, who was Englander's chief of staff, has confirmed that he accompanied Englander on the 2017 trip to Las Vegas, but denies any wrongdoing.

"In my 20 years of service with the City of Los Angeles, I have never had a single ethics violation," Lee said in a June statement. "My focus is on working with everyone in our community to address the most pressing issues facing the Twelfth District and all of Los Angeles."

"I was in Las Vegas with Councilmember Englander in June and I did everything in my power to pay for and reimburse expenses related to this trip," Lee also wrote in a March 9 tweet, six days after he won his current seat. "I was unaware of any illegal activities for which Councilmember Englander is being charged."

A grand jury indictment mentions "City Staffer B," who allegedly also accepted gifts, leading neighborhood councils to investigate Lee's involvement in the case. In June, the Granada Hills South and Porter Ranch Neighborhood Councils voted in favor of a resolution calling on the City Ethics Commission to "investigate council member Lee's involvement in this incident, determine if he violated ethics rules promulgated by the city of Los Angeles and produce a full public report."

Though Lee has faced calls to resign and been interviewed by the FBI, his supporters say no evidence exists that he has done anything wrong.

See also:
Englander Sentenced To 14 Months In Prison For Lying To FBI

Councilman Jose Huizar Hit With 31-Count Grand Jury Indictment

John Lee Investigation Requested By Neighborhood Councils

Ex-LA Councilman Mitch Englander Pleads Guilty In Bribery Case

Mitchell Englander Admits To Bribery As Valley Councilman