California deemed a new center for political corruption

September 2, 2024

By JOSH FRIEDMAN

With numerous high-profile graft cases and public officials getting prosecuted, political analysts are noting that California has become a new center of political corruption in the United States. [DNYUZ]

Over the least 10 years, 576 public officials in California have been convicted on federal corruption charges, according to Justice Department reports. That total exceeds the number of cases in states better known for public corruption, including New York, New Jersey and Illinois.

While California has a much larger population than those states, the recent wave of corruption cases in the Golden State is attribution to much more than that, federal prosecutors say.

A heavy concentration of power at Los Angeles City Hall, the receding presence of local news media, a population that often tunes out local politics and a growing Democratic supermajority in California government have all helped insulate public officials from damage, political analysts said. Other factors include high levels of Chinese investment, particularly in real estate development, and large immigrant populations in California, particularly in the L.A. area, which often consist of largely marginalized communities that do not have the resources to closely monitor their politicians.

This week, ex-Los Angeles City Council member Jose Huizar was scheduled to surrender to prison, but the start of his sentence was delayed. When he does report to prison, Huizar will become the third recent Los Angeles City Council member to serve time on corruption charges. The takedown of corrupt council members has been part of a much larger effort in which federal prosecutors have charged staff aides, fundraisers, political consultants and real estate developers over an “extraordinary” recent wave of bribery and influence-peddling across California.

Two other ex-Los Angeles City Council members, Mitchell Englander and Mark Ridley-Thomas, were previously convicted of various corruption charges, as was the former head of L.A.’s Department of Water and Power. A fourth council member, Curren Price, is facing embezzlement, perjury and conflict of interest charges.

FBI agents caught Huizar accepting $1.8 million worth of casino chips, luxury hotel stays, a liquor box full of cash and prostitutes from Chinese developers. Huizar pleaded guilty to racketeering, a charge often used in prosecuting organized crime or street gangs. The $1.8 million in bribes Huizar received was twice the amount that recently convicted New Jersey Sen. Robert Menendez was charged with accepting.

A judge sentenced the ex-L.A. City Council member to 13 years in federal prison on tax evasion and racketeering charges.

“He was the King Kong of L.A. City Hall for many, many years,” Mack E. Jenkins, chief of the criminal division at the U.S. attorney’s office in Los Angeles, told the court. “And with his fall, a lot of devastation was left in his wake.”

Huizar’s influence was greater than that of most other council members. His district included downtown L.A., where billions of dollars of foreign investment was transforming the skyline. Huizar also controlled the Planning and Land Use Management Committee that approves major developments all over Los Angeles.

“When you have that kind of power, pay-to play schemes run amok,” said U.S. Attorney Martin Estrada, whose office has led many of the recent prosecutions in Los Angeles. “I wouldn’t call it ordinary what these folks did. It is extraordinary.”

In March, a jury convicted Raymond Chan, a former Los Angeles deputy mayor whom prosecutors called the architect of the Huizar conspiracy. Chan was also convicted on racketeering charges.

Huizar received the roughly $1.8 million in gifts from billionaire Chinese investor Wei Huang, owner of the development company Shen Zhen New World, according to the FBI investigation. Huang, who has also been indicted, is now a fugitive in China. Huang’s company was fined $4 million.

In all, more than 50 key political figures and executives in Los Angles and San Francisco have been convicted since 2019. Many more key figures have been investigated or resigned after allegations against them surfaced.

In San Francisco, many of the recent corruption cases surrounded the former Department of Public Works chief Mohammed Nuru, who pleaded guilty in 2021 to accepting gifts, including a tractor for his ranch outside the city, a Rolex watch and millions of dollars. The gifts came from various people with business before the city.

Florence Kong, the owner of a recycling company, pleaded guilty to offering some of the bribes in exchange for city contracts, while Zhang Li, a Chinese developer also accused of offering bribes, signed a deferred prosecution agreement.