A federal jury on Wednesday found former Los Angeles Deputy Mayor Raymond Chan guilty of bribery, racketeering, fraud and lying to FBI investigators. He is the latest official to be convicted as a result of a widespread investigation into City Hall corruption.
The convictions relate to Chan’s activities from 2013 to 2018 — first as head of the Building and Safety Department and then as deputy mayor for economic development under former Mayor Eric Garcetti.
Prosecutors say Chan, 67, and former City Councilmember Jose Huizar were involved in shaking down Chinese developers who needed help getting their real estate projects through the city’s byzantine approval process.
At the time, Huizar chaired the powerful Planning and Land Use Management Committee, which approved major projects throughout the city.
Chan accepted tens of thousands of dollars in bribe money and facilitated illicit payoffs from property developers to Huizar as part of a long-running conspiracy that corrupted the approval of city real estate projects, according to prosecutors.
“Chan used his leadership position in City Hall to favor corrupt individuals and companies willing to play dirty,” said U.S. Attorney Martin Estrada, the top prosecutor for the Central District of California. “With today’s verdict, we send a strong message that the public will not stand for corruption and that pay-to-play politics has no place in our community.”
The FBI dubbed its investigation “Casino Loyale.”
Prosecutors said in a statement that as part of the conspiracy, Chan established a secret business partnership with real estate development consultant George Chiang, securing a lucrative real estate consulting agreement with Chinese real estate developer Shenzhen Hazens.
Chiang, of Granada Hills, previously agreed to plead guilty to one count of conspiring to violate the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organization, or RICO, statute.
Prosecutors said that as part of that agreement, Chan agreed to accept bribes to advise and pressure city officials in favor of Hazens’ Luxe Hotel redevelopment project.
A central goal of the enterprise was the succession plan of Huizar’s wife taking over his council seat so that he would still have control over downtown through her, according to prosecutors.
To further that plan, Chan facilitated a $100,000 campaign contribution commitment from Hazens in support of Huizar’s wife, in exchange for Huizar’s votes to approve the development project.
Huizar’s wife never ended up running for city council.
“Mr. Chan made decisions to enrich himself and his corrupt colleagues instead of advancing projects to benefit the residents of Los Angeles, and then lied about it when confronted with the facts,” said Mehtab Syed, the acting assistant director in charge of the FBI’s Los Angeles Field Office.
Chan was found guilty of all 12 felony counts he faced: 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.
In January, Huizar was sentenced to 13 years in prison.
Sentencing for Chan is set for June 10.
