Los Angeles City Councilman Arrested In Corruption Case

LOS ANGELES, CA — Authorities arrested Los Angeles City Councilman Jose Huizar Tuesday morning, culminating a two-year investigation into bribery and corruption at Los Angeles City Hall.

Huizar is facing a single federal charge of conspiring to violate the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act for allegedly agreeing to accept at least $1.5 million in bribes from developers. According to prosecutors, about $129,000 in cash was found stuffed in a closet at his home during a 2018 FBI search. The charge carries a sentence of up to 20 years in federal prison.

"Councilman Huizar violated the public trust to a staggering degree, allegedly soliciting and accepting hundreds of thousands of dollars in bribes from multiple sources over many years," U.S. Attorney Nick Hanna said in a statement. "Using the power of his office to approve or stall large building projects, Huizar worked through a web of other corrupt city officials, lobbyists, consultants and developers to line his pockets and maintain his hold on Council District 14, which he turned into a money-making criminal enterprise that shaped the development landscape in Los Angeles."

Huizar, a longstanding figure in Los Angeles politics, is suspected of operating a pay-to-play scheme, accepting bribes from a major developer with a project before the city. Authorities have been closing in on Juizar for months, raiding his office in 2018 and reaching plea deals with an aide, a political fundraiser who admitted to facilitating a $500,000 bribe, and a real estate consultant who admitted to conspiracy.

Huizar, suspected of accepting hundreds of thousands of dollars in bribes from a developer in exchange for his support of a downtown high-rise project, is expected to appear in Los Angeles federal court later Tuesday. Huizar is accused of accepting expensive gifts from developers including private jet travel, prostitutes, Las Vegas trips and poker chips.

Huizar's attorney could not immediately be reached for comment. Huizar is still on the council, but he was stripped of all his committee assignments following a November 2018 FBI search of his offices and home. He has been on the council since 2005.

But in a sign of the arrest to come, Huizar recently stopped attending council meetings at the request of Council President Nury Martinez.

Martinez said Tuesday that given Huizar's arrest, she will "begin the process of removing him from office so that the good people of Council District 14 and the city of Los Angeles will be fairly and honorably represented. That is our duty and we must do it."

Martinez said "the horrendous and disgusting allegations leveled against him and other have painted a dark cloud over our city government for a long time now."

Three weeks ago, the first of four defendants who have signed plea agreements with federal prosecutors formally entered a guilty plea in the ongoing "pay-to-play" public corruption probe. Justin Kim, a former City Hall fundraiser, pleaded guilty to a federal bribery charge for arranging a $500,000 bribe for Huizar.

Last month, former Huizar aide George Esparza agreed to plead guilty to one count of conspiring to violate the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organization statute and has been cooperating in the years-long probe.

Also last month, real estate broker and development consultant George Chiang agreed to plead guilty to the same racketeering charge, admitting he was involved in a scheme in which a Chinese real estate company bribed a council member in exchange for help on a major development project. Details in that filing also made clear prosecutors were referring to Huizar.

In November 2018, federal agents served search warrants at Huizar's City Hall and field offices, along with his home, as part of the investigation. Huizar was chairman of the powerful Planning and Land Use Management Committee at the time.

The bribery scheme involving Kim began in 2016 when a labor group filed an appeal claiming a developer's proposed residential high-rise project violated the California Environmental Quality Act. The developer contacted Kim in hopes of gaining Huizar's support, court papers indicate.

According to the U.S. Attorney's Office, the unnamed council member and developer negotiated a $500,000 payment, and in early 2017, the developer gave Kim $400,000 in cash inside a paper bag to deliver to the council member. Kim kept some cash for himself for acting as a go-between, then delivered the money to a staff member to pass along to Huizar, court papers indicate.

Prosecutors allege the developer later paid the other $100,000 when the appeal was resolved, but Kim kept the money for himself.

Court documents filed in connection with Esparza's plea agreement contend that his elected-official boss received more than $1 million in payments and financial benefits from a Chinese developer looking to build a 77- story skyscraper in Huizar's district.

Prosecutors allege in court papers that the developer took Esparza and Huizar on more than a dozen trips to Las Vegas between 2014 and 2017 and provided them with "flights on private jets, hotel rooms, spa services, meals, alcohol, prostitution/escort services and casino gambling chips." The court papers allege the council member received a total of more than $200,000 in casino chips during the trips.

Prosecutors also contend the developer bankrolled a January 2016 trip to Australia with Esparza and the council member. The court papers cite text messages between Esparza and the council member following the Australia and Las Vegas trips, detailing efforts to cover up the payments and expenses they received from the developer.

Prosecutors also contend in the papers the developer -- with Esparza's knowledge -- secured $600,000 in collateral so the council member could obtain a $570,000 bank loan to settle a sexual harassment lawsuit filed against the elected official in 2013 by a former employee. Huizar was sued in 2013 for alleged sexual harassment by former aide Francine Godoy. The married Huizar later claimed the two had a consensual affair. The lawsuit was settled in 2014, but the terms were never disclosed.

A date has not yet been set for Esparza to enter his guilty plea. Chiang is expected to plead guilty on Friday.

Prosecutors contend that yet another Chinese developer looking to build a project in Huizar's district bankrolled a trip for the councilman and his family, then later donated $100,000 to a political action committee on behalf of one of Huizar's relatives seeking to replace him when he is termed out of office this year. The relative isn't named in court papers, but Huizar's wife, Richelle, was actively campaigning for the seat until she dropped out of the race following the FBI searches.

Federal authorities also contend that various other developers donated to PACs in support of his wife's campaign, in exchange for Huizar's support of their projects. According to the U.S. Attorney's office, one of those developers also conducted "opposition research" on two female staffers who had sued Huizar for sexual harassment. That developer later received approval to build a 35-story project in the Arts District with "minimal" affordable housing units and union labor requirements, saving the company an estimated $14 million, prosecutors said.

Prosecutors also contend that Huizar was receiving $10,000 monthly cash retainers from an unnamed businessman interested in facilitating various business opportunities. That businessman also allegedly provided Huizar with $10,000 worth of hotel accommodations on 21 different occasions, along with $18,000 in gifts including suits, shoes and meals.

The criminal complaint also alleges that Huizar conspired with others involved in the scheme in an effort to get them to lie to federal prosecutors and the FBI during the probe.

The federal investigation has been a dark cloud over City Hall for the past two years. In March, former City Councilman Mitch Englander separately agreed to plead guilty to scheming to falsify facts in a probe of his acceptance of cash and other gifts from a businessman -- the same one accused of bribing Huizar. He is expected to formally enter his plea on July 7.

FRED SHUSTER, City News Service and Patch Staffer Paige Austin contributed to this report.