FBI corruption probe of L.A. City Hall and China - The rapid transformation of downtown Posted: Jan 14th, 2019 - 2:00 pm
Los Angeles’ skyline is being fueled in good measure by huge investments from Chinese companies eager to burnish their global brands and capitalize on L.A.’s real estate boom.
Now some of those projects have become a focus of federal agents seeking evidence of possible bribery, extortion, money laundering and other crimes as part of a corruption investigation at City Hall.
The federal investigation became public in November, when FBI agents descended on the home and offices of L.A. City Councilman Jose Huizar, who represents the vast majority of downtown.
In the warrant, agents sought information from Google about a Gmail account tied to Ray Chan, a former deputy mayor for economic development for Garcetti who once headed the city building department and has worked since then as a consultant. Agents said they were looking for evidence related to an investigation into bribery, extortion, money laundering and other crimes that could involve more than a dozen people.
Among those named were two executives linked to Shenzhen New World Group, a Chinese company that has unveiled plans to redevelop the L.A. Grand Hotel downtown with a 77-story tower and build a 31-story hotel near Universal Studios.
The warrant said investigators sought evidence of possible crimes involving City Hall figures in addition to Huizar, including his planning deputy, Shawn Kuk, and his former aide George Esparza; Price; Deron Williams, chief of staff to Wesson; Joel Jacinto, a Garcetti appointee who serves on the city’s Board of Public Works; and Chan himself.
Garcetti spokesman Alex Comisar declined to comment on Jacinto or Chan.
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LINK/URL: FBI corruption probe of L.A. City Hall and China
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