{"id":57704,"date":"2024-10-04T18:02:04","date_gmt":"2024-10-05T01:02:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/?p=57704"},"modified":"2024-10-04T18:09:27","modified_gmt":"2024-10-05T01:09:27","slug":"former-l-a-deputy-mayor-sentenced-to-12-years-in-prison-for-racketeering-and-conspiracy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/?p=57704","title":{"rendered":"Former L.A. Deputy Mayor Sentenced to 12 Years in Prison for Racketeering and Conspiracy"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0LOS ANGELES<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"A former deputy mayor and veteran Los Angeles city official was sentenced Friday to 12 years in federal prison for soliciting and accepting more than $750,000 in bribes for himself, federal officials stated.<\/span><\/p>\n

Raymond She Wah Chan facilitated over $1 million in bribes to then-Los Angeles City Councilmember Jos\u00e9 Huizar,<\/strong> officials stated.<\/span><\/p>\n

The bribes were part of a long-running pay-to-play racketeering scheme involving high-level government corruption in Los Angeles.<\/span><\/p>\n

U.S. District Judge John F. Walter sentenced Chan, 68, of Monterey Park and ordered him to pay $752,457 in restitution to the City of Los Angeles.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \"\" At the conclusion of a 12-day trial, a jury on March 27 found Chan guilty of all 12 felony counts for which he was charged: one count of conspiracy to violate the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act, seven counts of honest services wire fraud, three counts of federal program bribery, and one count of making false statements to a federal government agency.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Photo by Billy<\/a> on Unsplash<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cChan abused his public office and sought to deepen the corruption of city politics for the benefit of his own business interests,\u201d said U.S. Attorney Martin Estrada. \u201cToday\u2019s sentence sends a message to the public and City Hall alike that our government should not be for sale and those that undermine our democracy through pay-to-play schemes will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cToday\u2019s sentence serves as a reminder that there are consequences for robbing communities of the honest government services they deserve\u201d said Akil Davis, Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI Los Angeles Field Office. \u201cThe harm of public corruption manifests itself not only in financial loss, but also the loss of faith in government and public officials.”<\/span><\/p>\n

Chan served for years as the General Manager of the Los Angeles Department of Building and Safety (LADBS) and, later, as the Deputy Mayor of Economic Development from 2016 to 2017. <\/span><\/p>\n

Chan abused both of these high offices and the influence they carried to enrich himself, Huizar, and other public officials within the city.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"
Jos\u00e9 Huizar<\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0 Huizar, 56, of Boyle Heights, represented Council District 14 (CD-14) on the Los Angeles City Council from 2005 until his resignation in October 2020. CD-14 encompassed downtown Los Angeles and some of its surrounding areas. <\/span><\/p>\n

When downtown Los Angeles was experiencing a huge real estate development boom, Huizar chaired the Planning and Land Use Management (PLUM) Committee, which oversaw all major commercial and residential development projects in the city.<\/span><\/p>\n

Chan and Huizar are accused of doing the following:<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

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  • Criminal enterprise:<\/strong> Chan, alongside Huizar, helped create and lead the “CD-14 Enterprise,” a racketeering operation.<\/span><\/li>\n
  • Exploited approval process:<\/strong> The enterprise manipulated the city’s real estate approval process to solicit bribes from developers.<\/span><\/li>\n
  • Key role:<\/strong> Chan played a crucial role in the scheme’s success, using his public office and private connections.<\/span><\/li>\n
  • Foreign developers:<\/strong> He leveraged relationships with wealthy foreign developers wanting to build in Los Angeles.<\/span><\/li>\n
  • Financial benefits:<\/strong> Chan funneled nearly $2 million in bribes to himself, Huizar, and other officials through this pay-to-play scheme<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n