Former Los Angeles City Councilman Jose Huizar pleaded guilty to federal charges describing a city hall bribery and money laundering scheme in which he received over $1,500,000. cash, play trips and escorts in exchange for supporting a downtown hotel project, according to court documents obtained Thursday by the City News Service.
The plea agreement was filed Thursday in Los Angeles federal court, which will have to approve it.
Huizar admitted that the wide allegations of corruption, which he has denied since 2020 when he was arrested, were indeed true and said: “I am guilty of the allegations.” according to quotes published by the Los Angeles Times.
By pleading guilty, 54-year-old Huizar avoids a trial scheduled to begin on February 21.
A motion hearing in the case is scheduled for Friday morning, but it could be upgraded to a trial in which Huizar pleads guilty.
Huizar will be ordered to pay approximately $1,850,000 in restitution at sentencing.
Huizar, who was born in Zacatecas, Mexico, was one of the main targets of a federal investigation that has already resulted in several convictions. real estate developers, consultants, political adviser, lobbyist and former adviser Mitchell Englander, who pleaded guilty in 2020 and has since been released from prison.
It was not immediately known whether Huizara’s co-defendant, former Vice Mayor Raymond Chan, would also plead guilty. The couple’s trial on federal charges of conspiracy to violate the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO) was scheduled for Feb. 21.
Beyond the RICO conspiracy, Huizar’s plea agreement describes cases of honest wire and mail order fraud, interstate travel for promote organized crime, bribery, money laundering, false claims and tax evasion.
Huizar was forced to resign in 2020 as he served his last possible term as a Los Angeles councillor, representing the predominantly Hispanic neighborhoods of Boyle Heights and East Los Angeles.
Source: La Opinion
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