Los Angeles City Council: FBI Probe | Comprehensive Review by Louie Lujan
According to Louie Lujan, Government Relations Director with CIMA Law Group, the LA City Council has been embroiled in an FBI investigation probe over racketeering and bribery accusations for over three years. A number of people have already pled guilty to these charges and still more are being investigated.
To provide legal definitions, according to the Federal RICO Act, racketeering is: A pattern of illegal activity carried out as part of an enterprise that is owned or controlled by those who are engaged in the illegal activity. Whereas bribery is: Corrupt solicitation, acceptance, or transfer of value in exchange for official action.
In this case, members of the LA City Council and those close to them are the enterprise that is partaking in a pattern of illegal activity, which is bribery. It is important to note before we continue that merely accepting or transferring the value associated with a bribe constitutes bribery under federal law. The City Council Members are accepting and soliciting bribes in exchange for their official action.
The general pattern of activity has been bribery being solicited and accepted in the LA City Council in exchange for speedier and more favorable land development for big money projects. The enterprises handing out the bribes have been varied with some Chinese land developers and other LA-based enterprises. This mode of having speedy development projects in Los Angeles is not new, the highly influential former LA Deputy Mayor Raymond Chan was famous for his exceedingly cavalier attitude towards building projects. Chan was also constantly suspected of dealing in illegal activity associated with this goal. Tellingly, current LA Mayor Eric Garcetti called Chan, a “true public servant.” Therefore, this newly uncovered web of bribery can be viewed as a symptom of the legacy of Raymond Chan.
The first uncovered instance of this activity involved Mitch Englander, former LA City Council Member, and his Chief of Staff John Lee* accepting bribes from a Chinese land developer in Las Vegas in exchange for their Official support of their land development proposal. The bribes included escorts, money and pampering accommodations. This activity happened in early 2017. Since this date, Mitch Englander lied about his participation in the scheme to the FBI on several occasions and attempted to cover up his involvement. He pled guilty to lying to the FBI in March of 2020 and further charges may be on the cards. John Lee, on the other hand, has not yet pled guilty but instead is currently occupying the seat on City Council that Mitch Englander vacated. Clearly, the two were intimately connected and the FBI is undoubtedly continuing an investigation on John Lee.
Another major development in the investigation has been the ongoing probing of Jose Huizar and his associates. Huizar is currently serving on the LA City Council, but recently LA Mayor Eric Garcetti has called for his resignation. Huizar is suspected as a main player in the bribery scheme in City Hall. One of his former aides, George Esparza, pled guilty to a Racketeering Conspiracy of soliciting luxurious vacations and other bribes in exchange for favors in City Hall. Considering that Jose Huizar is the actual decision maker, he is undoubtedly guilty of Racketeering Conspiracy as well. Huizar is currently playing it close to the chest and limiting his activity in City Hall, but is clearly under immense pressure to follow the path of his compatriot Mitch Englander and resign.
Two other ancillary individuals that have pled guilty to bribery include political fundraiser Justin Jangwoo Kim and Real Estate Development consultant George Chiang. Kim helped transfer a 500k bribe to an unnamed city council member who was most likely Jose Huizar. George Chiang pled guilty to being involved in a Racketeering Conspiracy again with an unnamed LA City Council Member. All of this points to there being a massive Racketeering Conspiracy in LA City Hall, with only a small fraction of those who are guilty currently being prosecuted.
Is this ridiculous level of corruption and greed unbelievable? No, unfortunately not. When informing people of this investigation, many just look at you as though it was implicit that this sort of activity is happening. Be that as it may, it is commendable that the FBI is taking their time to sort through this latticework of lies, bribery and racketeering to pass judgement on clearly unscrupulous people in positions of great power and influence in Los Angeles. One hopes that in the future, the LA City Council will be more heavily policed and have their insatiable appetites for land development reined in.
*John Lee is not specifically named in the court documents but it is heavily implied that he was with Englander in Las Vegas
Definitions:
https://legal-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/Racketeering https://www.law.cornell.edu/wex/bribery
Originally published at http://cima.law.blog on June 17, 2020.
