A former aide to now-imprisoned ex-Los Angeles City Councilman José Huizar was sentenced Friday to federal probation for his role in a City Hall pay-to-play scheme in which real estate developers paid bribes to ensure building projects received favored treatment.
George Esparza, 38, of Boyle Heights was ordered to serve one year of home detention as part of his three-year probationary sentence. He was also ordered to pay $130,000 in restitution and perform 300 hours of community service, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
Esparza was the third defendant in the Huizar case to be sentenced this week, and the third to avoid prison time.
Esparza pleaded guilty four years ago to a single count of conspiring to violate the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organization statute, and agreed to cooperate in the wide-ranging federal probe.
According to his plea agreement, Esparza and Huizar took bribes from the billionaire head of a Chinese real estate company who paid more than $1 million in exchange for Huizar’s support for a 77-story skyscraper the company wanted to build on downtown’s Figueroa Street.
Esparza told investigators that between 2014 and 2018, the developer provided him and the then-council member flights on private jets, gambling chips, expensive meals, prostitution/escort services and other perks during more than a dozen trips to casinos in Las Vegas, court records show.
In his plea agreement, Esparza also admitted to lying to special agents with the FBI during interviews in June and July of 2017 by falsely stating, among other things, that he had no knowledge of any city official helping on a project in exchange for money, gifts or campaign contributions.
On Tuesday, real estate development consultant George Chiang was sentenced to a year in home detention and 150 hours of community service as part of his three-year probationary sentence.
Chiang pleaded guilty in June 2020 to one federal count of conspiring to violate the RICO Act. The charge carries a possible sentence of up to 20 years behind bars, but because of his cooperation in the investigation, Chiang received a far lighter penalty, court papers show.
A close political ally of Huizar, Chiang communicated with Chinese companies that were developing real estate projects in Los Angeles and sought the councilman’s help. Chiang helped orchestrate bribes for Huizar in order to win his support, federal prosecutors said.
On Monday, longtime lobbyist Morrie Goldman also dodged prison and was sentenced to six months’ home detention as part of his probationary sentence. Goldman pleaded guilty to conspiring to commit bribery and honest services mail fraud, and cooperated in the investigation.
The central figure in the case, Huizar, is now serving a 13-year prison sentence for accepting bribes from downtown developers and cheating on his taxes. He pleaded guilty in January 2023 to conspiracy to violate the RICO Act and tax evasion.
Huizar, 56, represented the downtown area and was chairman of the Planning and Land Use Management Committee, the powerful panel that reviews the city’s largest development projects. Evidence showed he monetized his position and leveraged his political clout for over $1.5 million in cash bribes, gambling chips, luxury trips, political contributions, prostitutes, extravagant meals, services, concerts and other gifts.
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Federal prosecutors said the probe exposed “significant and blatant corruption” at City Hall.
Huizar’s co-defendant, former Los Angeles Deputy Mayor Raymond Chan, was sentenced last month to 12 years in federal prison for acting as an intermediary in Huizar’s scheme.
Chan, 68, was convicted in March by a jury in Los Angeles federal court of a dozen felony counts: one count of conspiracy to violate the RICO Act, seven counts of honest services wire fraud, three counts of bribery and one count of making false statements to a federal government agency.
Members and associates of the scheme included lobbyists, consultants and other city officials and staffers, who sought to personally enrich themselves and their families and associates in exchange for official acts. Along with Chiang, Goldman and Esparza, participants included political fundraiser Justin Jangwoo Kim. Each pleaded guilty and agreed to cooperate with the government’s investigation.
Kim is scheduled to be sentenced by U.S. District Judge John Walter on Nov. 15 in downtown Los Angeles.