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MONDAY, JANUARY 29- FEBRUARYY 04, 2024
VISIT ONTARIONEWSPRESS.COM
VOL. 8,
NO. 157
Huizar gets 13 years in prison following guilty plea in corruption case
SGV Habitat for Humanity extends Women Build fundraiser through March
By Fred Shuster, City News Service
By Staff
D
isgraced former LA City Councilman José Huizar was sentenced Friday to 13 years in federal prison for using his powerful position at City Hall to shake down real estate developers for at least $1.5 million in cash and benefits in exchange for help driving downtown real estate projects through the city’s approval process, and for cheating on his taxes. Huizar, 55, of Boyle Heights, “made a business of his public office at the expense of the citizens of Los Angeles,” U.S. District Judge John Walter said from the bench before imposing sentence. Huizar sat stonily during the two-hour hearing in downtown Los Angeles, briefly addressing the court to apologize to his family and former constituents. He said he hoped others in public office would take heed of his current situation. The judge gave Huizar until April 30 to begin serving his sentence. Along with the prison term, Walter ordered restitution of $443,905 payable to the city of Los Angeles and the Internal Revenue Service, with $50,000 due immediately. Huizar must also serve three years of supervised release following prison. The former councilman pleaded guilty a year ago to federal counts of conspiracy to violate the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations, or RICO, Act and tax evasion in a sprawling criminal probe that ensnared lobbyists, consultants and other city officials and staffers, who sought to personally enrich themselves and their families and associates in exchange for official acts, authorities said. Walter called the defen-
Jose Huizar in 2009. | Photo courtesy of CCTPG/Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 2.0)
dant “one of the most corrupt officials of the last several years.” The judge added that Huizar yearned to “live the good life, as enjoyed by the wealthy developers” he unlawfully did business with. Huizar represented Council District 14, which includes downtown Los Angeles and its surrounding communities, from 2005 until his resignation in 2020. According to his lawyers, Huizar was “an evangelist for robust development” in efforts to ensure Los Angeles was befitting of a “world-class city.” In his plea agreement, Huizar admitted to leading the so-called CD-14 Enterprise, which operated as a pay-to-play scheme in which Huizar — assisted by others — unlawfully used his office to give favorable treatment to real estate developers who financed and facilitated cash bribes, campaign donations and other illicit benefits. “For years, defendant operated his pay-to-play scheme in the city of Los Angeles to monetize his public position and leverage
his political clout for over $1.5 million dollars in cash bribes, gambling chips, luxury trips, political contributions, prostitutes, extravagant meals, services, concerts, and other gifts,” according to a memo filed by the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Los Angeles. “If anyone dared rebuff his call to pay bribes, he punished them and their city projects, threatening developers with indefinitely delayed projects and financial peril.” Huizar also admitted to accepting a $600,000 bribe payment in the form of a “loan” from China-based billionaire real estate developer Wei Huang for use to secretly settle a pending sexual harassment lawsuit against Huizar by a former staffer. Huang’s downtown Los Angeles-based company was found guilty in 2022 of paying more than $1 million in bribes — including luxury trip expenses, casino gambling chips and the sham loan — to the thencouncilman to obtain city approval to build a 77-story mixed-use skyscraper downtown. Huang, who
owns a house in San Marino, was also charged in the case but is considered a fugitive believed to be in China, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office. Members and associates of the CD-14 Enterprise also included lobbyists, consultants, and other city officials and staffers, who sought to personally enrich themselves and 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. Each pleaded guilty and agreed to cooperate with the government’s investigation. Huizar “covered his tracks with layers of concealment, including by shamelessly exploiting his elderly mother, brother and wife to launder his illicit proceeds. Finally, when defendant felt the walls of the instant federal investiSee Huizar Page 02
Women Build volunteers. | Photo courtesy of San Gabriel Valley Habitat for Humanity
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oinciding with Women’s History Month, San Gabriel Valley Habitat for Humanity is extending its annual Women Build activities through March, the organization announced last week. SGV Habitat described Women Build as a “signature event” that the nonprofit housing operation has organized since 1991. Until now it was held over one weekend and this year aims to raise $400,000 and “bring hundreds of women and their allies together to build homes and highlight the importance of homeownership for women in their struggle to achieve economic equity.” Specific volunteer opportunities will be finalized and available when organizers announce Women Build activities in February, according to SGV Habitat. No building or specialized experience is necessary to volunteer. “Women Build volunteers learn new skills, inspire each other, and help build stronger, safer communities,” event organizers said. “While Women Build focuses on the inclusion of women in the work of building homes, the event does not exclude volunteers of any gender or gender identity.” In Los Angeles County more than 60% of renters contend with housing affordability, according to SGV Habitat, which observed that the gender wage gap further blocks women’s access to affordable housing. As a result, there are increasing numbers of women living in substandard and unsafe conditions, and women disproportionately have to deal with barriers to acquiring decent, affordable housing — especially those who serve as head of their households and women of color. Affordability is not the only focus of SGV Habitat’s See Women Build fundraiser Page 24