LA Councilman Arrested on Racketeering Charges After Allegedly Receiving Illicit Benefits

Paula Liu
By Paula Liu
June 24, 2020US News
share
LA Councilman Arrested on Racketeering Charges After Allegedly Receiving Illicit Benefits
Councilman Jose Huizar speaks at The Midnight Mission's 11th Annual Golden Hearts Awards in Beverly Hills, California, on May 9, 2011. (Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images)

The FBI arrested Jose Huizar, an elected member of the Los Angeles City Council, on Tuesday on a federal racketeering charge.

According to the United States Attorney’s Office Central District of California Huizar’s arrest went without opposition, and he appeared in court in downtown Los Angeles on Tuesday.

Huizar was charged with soliciting and accepting bribes and illicit funds by using his position in Los Angeles City Council. Huizar operated a “criminal enterprise” in which he exchanged “official actions favorable to the developers and others” for bribes, according to the attorney’s office.

The arrest was based on a federal criminal complaint that was filed on Monday, which stated that Huizar was charged with one count of conspiring to violate the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organization (RICO) Act. The complaint alleged that “as part of the criminal enterprise, he and his associates violated a series of laws, including bribery, honest services fraud, extortion, and money laundering.”

The majority of the international financial benefits allegedly came from Chinese developers, although Huizar also allegedly had domestic developers who took part in the bribery in exchange for favors.

The criminal enterprise that Huizar allegedly operated was the “CD-14 enterprise,” and he did so alongside a few other members, all of whom have been named as co-conspirators. These include a former general manager of the Los Angeles Department of Building and Safety and former deputy mayor; Huizar’s former special assistant George Esparza; and real estate development consultant George Chiang, according to the complaint.

Huizar was allegedly the enterprise’s boss, and all the other players worked together as a criminal organization that sought to “[enrich] its members and associates through means that included bribery, extortion, and honest services fraud.” Other objectives included “advancing its political goals and maintaining its control and authority,” “concealing the enterprise’s financial activities,” and “protecting the enterprise by concealing its activities and shielding the enterprise from detection by law enforcement.”

Esparza and Chiang already pleaded guilty to violating the RICO Act prior to Huizar’s arrest and charge, according to the attorney’s office.

The enterprise was created by Huizar and the former general manager around 2013, according to the press release, with the pair allegedly taking part in several schemes involving bribes.

Another individual, Justin Jangwoo Kim, a middleman in one of the enterprise’s schemes, pleaded guilty to bribery charges on June 3. Mitchell Englander, a former Los Angeles City Council member will also be pleading guilty on July 7 on the charge of scheming to falsify material facts, according to the press release.

So far, five people have been charged in relation to the investigation.

An individual who is convicted on charges of RICO conspiracy can face a maximum sentence of 20 years in federal prison.

ntd newsletter icon
Sign up for NTD Daily
What you need to know, summarized in one email.
Stay informed with accurate news you can trust.
By registering for the newsletter, you agree to the Privacy Policy.
Comments