Former Los Angeles City Councilman Jose Huizar was sentenced to 13 years in federal prison for his involvement in a racketeering scheme.

In January 2023, Huizar pleaded guilty to multiple charges related to the pay-for-play scheme, including one count of conspiracy to violate the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act and a tax evasion count.

“No one is above the law,” United States Attorney Martin Estrada said in a statement. “Today’s sentence shows that even a powerful elected official like Huizar will be held accountable for engaging in criminal misconduct. Huizar was elected to serve the interests of the hard-working people of Los Angeles, but he instead served his own personal interests in a long-running, pay-to-play, bribery scheme. Our community deserves better.”

Huizar, 55, admitted in a plea that he used his position in the city council to take more than $1 million in bribes from real estate developers.

The investigation found that Huizar accepted multiple services from the developers, including casino gambling chips, prostitution services, escort services, political contributions, flights on private jets, hotel stays, lavish meals, and entertainment tickets.

“This years-long investigation uncovered one of the most audacious public corruption cases in this city’s history,” Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI’s Los Angeles Field Office, Donald Alway said. “Mr. Huizar ignored the needs of his constituents and instead, served his own interests by accepting bribes and a wide assortment of luxury perks from wealthy real estate moguls and others who could afford Huizar’s political favors at the taxpayer’s expense. My hope is that this case brings more citizens forward to the FBI when they suspect corrupt practices and foreign influence.”

The former council member admitted he lied to investigators about attempting to tamper with two witnesses in the case.

Huizar was asked to pay $443,905 in restitution to the city of Los Angeles and $38,792 to the IRS.

Voted onto the council in 2005, Huizar served up until his resignation in 2020.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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