Prosecutors Propose $1.3 Million & 13-Year Sentence for Disgraced LA Councilman
Los Angeles, California: Federal prosecutors propose that disgraced former Los Angeles City Councilman José Huizar serve a 13-year sentence and pay more than $1.3 million in fines and reparations.
Huizar entered a guilty plea to felonies for undermining his taxes and utilizing his influential position at City Hall to benefit himself and his allies. Despite his request for a one-month postponement, he has a sentencing hearing set for January 26.
The defense’s stance on sentencing has not yet been submitted to the court. Huizer is 55 years old and served as an Ex-councilman in the LA City Council.
He entered a guilty plea in January to one count of tax evasion and one count of conspiracy to violate the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act.
From 2005 until his resignation in 2020, Huizar served as a representative for Council District 14, which encompasses downtown Los Angeles and the adjacent suburbs.
Huizar acknowledged being the head of the so-called CD-14 Enterprise, a pay-to-play operation in which he illegally used his position of authority to grant real estate developers who funded and enabled bribes and other illicit financial benefits. Huizar worked with others to run the enterprise.
Huizar reportedly acknowledged collecting a $600,000 bribe payment in the form of collateral from a billionaire real estate developer in China, which was intended to be used as cover for a covert settlement of a former employee’s pending sexual harassment claim against Huizar.
Prosecutors concluded that Huizar would get no more than 13 years in prison in exchange for his guilty plea to the two felony offenses. Huizar also consented to give over $129,000 in cash that had been discovered by police during a search of his house in November 2018.
