A real estate development consultant was sentenced on Tuesday, Nov. 5, to home detention and community service — but no prison time — for his role in the pay-to-play scheme at City Hall tied to now-imprisoned ex-City Councilman Jose Huizar’s approval of large building projects in downtown Los Angeles.
George Chiang of Granada Hills was sentenced to 12 months’ home detention and 150 hours of community service as part of his three-year probationary sentence. He was also ordered to pay the maximum fine of $250,000, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
Chiang pleaded guilty in June 2020 to one federal count of conspiring to violate the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organization statute, which carries a possible sentence of up to 20 years behind bars. Because of his cooperation in the investigation, Chiang received a far lighter penalty, court papers show.
Los Angeles City Councilman Jose Huizar. (AP Photo/Ringo H.W. Chiu, File)
A close political ally of Huizar, Chiang interfaced 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.
Chiang was the second defendant in the Huizar case to be sentenced this week.
On Monday, longtime lobbyist and former City Hall official 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.
Chiang admitted in his plea agreement to participating in the scheme run by Huizar in which a Chinese real estate company bribed city officials in exchange for approval to build a 77-story skyscraper in the then-councilman’s district.
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.
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 and Goldman, participants included Huizar’s former special assistant George Esparza and political fundraiser Justin Jangwoo Kim, among others. Each pleaded guilty and agreed to cooperate with the government’s investigation.
Esparza is scheduled to be sentenced by U.S. District Judge John Walter on Friday in downtown Los Angeles, and Kim is set to be sentenced on Nov. 15.