LOS ANGELES, CA. – APRIL 11: Los Angeles City Council member Jose Huizar, speaks at a press conference with housing advocates in advance of the City Council’s final vote on the Permanent Supportive Housing Ordinance and the Motel Conversion Ordinance at Los Angeles City Hall on Wednesday, April 11, 2018 in Los Angeles, CA. (Kent Nishimura / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)
A Sept. 29 trial date was set Wednesday for suspended Los Angeles City Councilman Jose Huizar, who faces federal charges alleging he ran a $1.5 million pay-to-play scheme in which developers were shaken down for cash bribes and campaign donations in exchange for his support of downtown-area development projects.
Prosecutors told U.S. District Judge John Walter that they expect the trial to last about 20 days, and that it will involve between 40 and 45 witnesses. Walter questioned whether Huizar qualifies for a public defender and asked for more financial information.
Huizar, 51, of Boyle Heights, pleaded not guilty Monday during a video conference in Los Angeles federal court.
He is charged in a 34-count federal grand jury indictment, which alleges more than 400 overt acts, including bribery, honest services fraud and money laundering, that the city councilman and co-defendants are accused of committing to further their criminal enterprise.
If convicted as charged, Huizar would face more than 100 years behind bars.
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Huizar's previous attorney said the councilman "intends to respond to the government's allegations in court.'' His representation has since been taken on by lawyers with the federal public defender's office.
Huizar, the central figure in the five-year City Hall corruption probe, is accused of accepting at least $1.5 million in bribes from developers in exchange for his support of downtown building projects. He was suspended from the council following his arrest in June.
In addition to a previously charged racketeering conspiracy count, the indictment charges Huizar with a dozen counts of honest services wire fraud, two counts of honest services mail fraud, four counts of traveling interstate in aid of racketeering, six counts of bribery, five counts of money laundering, and one count each of structuring cash deposits to conceal bribes, making a false statement to a financial institution, making false statements to federal law enforcement, and tax evasion.
The councilman had represented downtown and the Eastside since 2005 and for several years was also the chairman of the Planning and Land Use Management Committee, the powerful panel that reviews the city's biggest development projects. He was stripped of all his committee assignments in November 2018, following FBI searches of his home and offices, and had scaled back his legislative activity before his suspension. His bi-weekly salary payments of $8,192.85 were terminated last month and his term ends in December.
During the search of his home, agents allegedly seized $129,000 in cash that was stashed in Huizar's closet and which, according to the indictment, he received from a Chinese billionaire and another businessperson seeking favors from him.
The 113-page indictment alleges that Huizar operated the scheme along with former aide George Esparza, real estate consultant George Chiang, and political fundraiser Justin Kim. An unnamed former deputy mayor was also allegedly involved in the scheme, according to prosecutors.
Among the allegations, Huizar is accused of illegally accepting more than $800,000 in benefits from the unnamed billionaire who runs a multinational development firm and owns a hotel in the councilman's district. The executive provided $600,000 in collateral to fund the settlement of a sexual harassment lawsuit filed against Huizar by a former staffer, allegations that threatened to derail his 2015 re-election campaign, according to the indictment.
Huizar is the fifth person to be charged in the ongoing corruption investigation of Los Angeles City Hall being conducted by the FBI and the U.S. Attorney's Office. Four other people have already pleaded guilty.
Esparza, Chiang and Kim -- who are all cooperating with the investigation -- are scheduled to be sentenced by Walter in February.
In a separate case not tied to Huizar, former Los Angeles City Councilman Mitch Englander pleaded guilty July 7 to a single felony charge of scheming to falsify material facts, admitting he helped prevent federal investigators from learning about cash and other perks he received from a Southern California businessman.
Englander was not accused in Huizar's case, nor with any actions taken in his official capacity as a city councilman. His sentencing hearing is scheduled for Dec. 7, also before Walter.
