Former Los Angeles City Councilman José Huizar, who has been convicted and sentenced to 13 years in prison for accepting bribes from developers and tax evasion, is seeking to postpone his reporting date to federal prison, according to a court document obtained on Tuesday.
Huizar, who is required to report to the Bureau of Prisons by April 30th as per the sentence, is now requesting to delay this date to August 30th due to health reasons, as revealed in new filings at the Los Angeles federal court.
The documents filed on Monday request that his application be sealed, citing that it contains “private medical information” that is suitable for submission as a sealed file.
Prosecutors have not yet responded to this request, and a spokesperson for the U.S. Attorney’s Office declined to comment.
Huizar, aged 55, admitted to multiple felony charges last year, including conspiring to violate the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO) and tax evasion.
In addition to his 13-year imprisonment, Huizar was also ordered in January of this year to pay restitution of nearly $444,000 and nearly $39,000 to the city of Los Angeles and the IRS, respectively. Court documents signed by a judge in February showed that Huizar had fully paid the IRS restitution.
Huizar served as a city councilman for Los Angeles’ 14th District from 2005 until his resignation in 2020, representing the downtown area and surrounding communities.
He admitted to operating a pay-to-play scheme, where he and his associates illegally provided favorable treatment to real estate developers in exchange for cash bribes, campaign contributions, and other illicit benefits.
Federal prosecutors highlighted that Huizar leveraged his authority and political influence to receive over $1.5 million in bribes and perks, including cash, gambling chips, luxury trips, political donations, entertainment, lavish meals, services, concerts, and other gifts.
According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Huizar would punish those who refused his bribe demands and threatened developers with indefinite project delays and financial risks.
Participants in Huizar’s pay-to-play scheme included lobbyists, consultants, and other city officials and staffers who also benefited from the corruption. Some of these individuals, such as his former special assistant George Esparza, real estate consultant George Chiang, political fundraiser Justin Jangwoo Kim, and lobbyist Morrie Goldman, have pleaded guilty and agreed to cooperate with the government’s investigation.
One of Huizar’s corrupt activities involved a Chinese real estate developer and former Los Angeles Deputy Mayor Raymond Chan.
Huizar confessed to accepting a $600,000 bribe in the form of a “loan” from Chinese developer Wei Huang to secretly settle a sexual harassment lawsuit filed by a former employee against him.
Huang, the owner of Shen Zhen New World I LLC, had provided Huizar with bribes totaling over $1 million, including luxurious travels, casino chips, and undisclosed loans, in exchange for approval from the city government to construct a 77-story skyscraper.
In November 2022, Huang was found guilty by a jury on charges related to bribery. In May 2023, he was sentenced to five years probation, with a $4 million fine imposed on Huang and his company, Shen Zhen New World. Huang was believed to have fled back to China and did not appear in court.
Former Los Angeles Deputy Mayor Raymond Chan was also implicated in the case for allegedly assisting Huizar in obtaining bribes from Huang.
In March of this year, Chan was convicted on numerous federal charges, including conspiracy to commit extortion, bribery, honest services fraud, and aiding Huizar in the bribery scheme.
Chan’s sentencing hearing is scheduled for June 10th, with defense lawyers seeking a mistrial on the grounds that a juror allegedly expressed a desire for a “quick” decision. A hearing on this matter is set for May 3rd in downtown Los Angeles.
Last year, Chan’s first trial was declared a mistrial due to a medical emergency involving defense counsel.