US federal judge denies bid by former Los Angeles deputy mayor to dismiss corruption charges News
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US federal judge denies bid by former Los Angeles deputy mayor to dismiss corruption charges

US District Judge John F. Walter denied a motion by Raymond Chan, former Los Angeles Deputy Mayor of Economic Development, on Friday to dismiss a series of charges in a sprawling public corruption indictment.

Chan faces a 12-count federal indictment on RICO, bribery, honest services and false statements. The indictment includes charges that, while in his position of Deputy Mayor, he did “[use] his official position as Deputy Mayor to pressure subordinate City officials to take favorable official actions on the Luxe Hotel Project,” according to Friday’s ruling.

In November 2020, the Justice Department announced the charges against Chan and made an accompanying indictment public.

Federal prosecutors allege that Chan and a former Los Angeles City Councillor used their influence to take money from the developer of the Luxe Hotel, George Chiang. According to the indictment, Chan abused his official position to benefit Chiang’s application. That former City Councillor, Jose Huizar, was initially scheduled to be tried alongside Chan but plead guilty to RICO and tax evasion charges in 2023. Huziar is expected to be sentenced in January of 2024.

Noting that this was Chan’s second attempt to dismiss the charges and that the motion was filed without proper leave of the court, Walter nonetheless went on to find Chan’s argument that the acts in question fell outside the time of his employment with the city was not persuasive. Chan’s legal argument, to that end, “rests on a fundamental misunderstanding of what is alleged in the … Indictment. Indeed, the … Indictment does not charge Chan with breaching his fiduciary duty for conduct that he engaged in as a private citizen.” Walter also rejected arguments by Chan that the indictment “failed to properly state the offense of federal bribery” and that the RICO count did not “sufficiently allege the existence of a conspiracy,” saying that prosecutors had met their burden in both regards.

Chan is the only person involved with the alleged scheme who will face trial, which is scheduled to continue later in 2024. In June, Los Angeles District Attorney George Gascón announced formal charges against Los Angeles Councilmember Curren Price Jr. for embezzlement, perjury and conflict of interest.

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