At the end of January 2024, it became known that José Huizar was sentenced to 13 years in prison. The reason for this was a major scandal involving bribery in real estate development projects. Find out more about the former Los Angeles City Council member at layes.info.
What do we know about José Huizar?
Before diving right into the Los Angeles political scandal, we would like to tell you more about the former Mexican-born politician who served as a member of the city council from 2005 to 2020.
He was born in the city of Los Morales, Mexico. His father was a migrant farm worker who later became a machinist, and his mother was a meat processing plant worker. When the boy was three years old, the family moved to the Los Angeles neighborhood of Boyle Heights.
José Huizar put a lot of time and effort into his studies to accomplish his goals.
- José Huizar first attended Bishop Mora Salesian High School, a Roman Catholic school for boys.
- After that, he enrolled at the University of California, Berkeley. During his studies, he obtained US citizenship.
- The determined young man received his master’s degree in Public Affairs and Urban Planning from Princeton University, a private Ivy League research university in New Jersey.
- The next accomplishment was earning a doctorate of law from the University of California, Los Angeles School of Law.
José Huizar became the first Latino to serve on Princeton’s Board of Trustees. This occurred in 2004 before he was elected to the city council.
Politics and public trust
In an early election on November 8, 2005, José Huizar was elected to the Los Angeles City Council. In 2007, he was re-elected for a full four-year term, and again in 2011. Due to revised city laws, the politician was re-elected in 2015, although for a longer term.
José Vizar was the first Mexican immigrant elected to the Los Angeles City Council. Here are some of his decisions that resulted in conflicting opinions from the public:
- in 2012-2013, he put forward a ban on single-use plastic bags and worked to expand recycling in commercial and apartment buildings (during his time as chairman of the Los Angeles City Council’s Energy & Environment Committee)
- he advocated that Los Angeles should become a coal-free city by 2025
- he proposed a complete street model of the city layout, as a result of which the first parklets in the city were created
- he insisted on extending metro opening hours while serving on the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority Board of Directors
- several times he blocked and delayed the construction of 49 housing units in his neighborhood
- in 2008, he launched a 10-year initiative to revitalize the city’s historic Theater District. We are talking about the “return of Broadway” initiative
- he contributed to the expansion of the historic Highland Park protected area.
It is worth noting that José Huizar, who came from a humble background, dedicated time in his political career to conserving open space and developing parks. This was especially true in low-income neighborhoods of Los Angeles.
Personal life
In 1999, José Huizar married Richelle Ríos. The couple has four children.
Unfortunately, his family became entangled with the webs he had been weaving for so long. For example, Huizar’s mother and brother laundered money he got as a bribe. Between 2014 and 2017, they exchanged clean checks for cash.
The image of an exemplary family man also quickly disappeared, as he was repeatedly accused of inappropriate behavior, namely, sexual harassment and extramarital relationships. All this later became public, causing a great deal of suffering for his wife and children.
High-profile political scandal
In November 2018, the FBI issued search warrants for Huizar’s City Hall office and residence. As a result of such operations, computers and file boxes were confiscated. The FBI investigated claims of retribution by the city council member and discovered the following:
- Fundraiser and Justin Kim, a former urban planning commissioner, pleaded guilty to charges of paying substantial monetary bribes to a city council member.
- It was discovered that this board member was Mitch Englander, who confirmed the allegations.
- The FBI also filed charges against a real estate developer (officially known as Developer C) for providing 500,000 dollars to an unknown person.
- The results of the investigation revealed that José Huizar was the likely recipient of the bribe.
Following that, the president of the City Council, Herb Wesson (a politician who served on the council for three terms from 2005 to 2020), removed Huizar from committee duties.
In May 2020, Los Angeles Mayor Eric Michael Garcetti (the city’s 42nd mayor from 2013 to 2022), along with City Council President Nury Martinez, urged José Huizar to resign.
On June 23, 2020, the politician was arrested and charged with federal corruption. The city council removed him from office.
Accusations
In 2023, José Huizar pled guilty to charges of racketeering and tax evasion. He acknowledged that he used his influential position in the mayor’s office for the sake of his own and his partners’ enrichment.
At the end of January 2024, the former Los Angeles City Council member was sentenced to 13 years in prison and ordered to pay 443,905 in compensation to the city’s executives and 38,792 in compensation to the tax service.
It is important to note that other charges were brought against the former member of the Los Angeles City Council:
- Regarding inappropriate and unethical behavior. According to the lawsuit, he fired Mayra Alvarez, Francine Godoy and Jesse Leon out of retaliation for their statements regarding the politician’s inappropriate and illegal actions.
- In 2013, José Huizar was sued for sexual harassment, but he later admitted to having a consensual relationship with former employee Francine Godoy. The investigation revealed no evidence of harassment.
As a result of his unlawful activities, José Huizar’s political career came to an end. In the verdict memorandum, prosecutors noted that the man was a really powerful political figure in Los Angeles. He swore an oath to defend the Constitution, perform his duties in good faith and serve primarily the interests of elections, yet the defendant repeatedly violated his vows. In the end, his desire for money and power triumphed over the rights and interests of voters – those who believed him.
It was also revealed that the accused spent years carrying out a pay-per-game scheme in Los Angeles to profit from the state’s position while abusing his political influence. The end outcome was more than $1.5 million in different types of payment. For example, the politician received bribes not only in cash, but also in casino chips, political contributions, luxurious trips, concerts, various kinds of gifts, extravagant dishes and even women of easy virtue.
Furthermore, it was discovered that the politician threatened to developers to postpone projects indefinitely, punishing them and the proposed city projects if they did not offer him a bribe. The threats also concerned their financial security.