Former LA Deputy Mayor Raymond Chan convicted in sprawling bribery case

Former Los Angeles Deputy Mayor Raymond Chan was convicted Wednesday of racketeering, bribery, fraud and giving false statements to investigators in a sprawling payto-play corruption scandal at City Hall.

The federal jury reached the guilty verdict less than 24 hours after lawyers finished closing arguments, the Los Angeles Times reported.

Sentencing was set for June 10. Chan's attorney, John Hanusz, told the judge that they will appeal.

“Chan used his leadership position in City Hall to favor corrupt individuals and companies willing to play dirty,” U.S. Attorney Martin Estrada said in a statement. “With today's verdict, we send a strong message that the public will not stand for corruption and that pay-toplay politics has no place in our community.”

This was Chan's second trial in the bribery case involving downtown Los Angeles real estate development projects. The first fell apart after his lawyer, Harland Braun, was hospitalized and unable to return to work for months. A judge declared a mistrial last April.

In the latest trial, Assistant U.S. Attorney Brian R. Faerstein told jurors that Chan and former City Councilmember Jose Huizar

used the downtown real estate boom of the prior decade to enrich themselves and their allies, the Times reported.

Faerstein described Chan, 67, as a crucial intermediary between Chinese developers looking to build high-rises and Huizar, who headed the powerful committee that shepherded such projects.

In opening arguments March 12, Faerstein said Chan “got bribes for himself, and he got bribes for other public officials.”

Chan is the last defendant charged in the City Hall corruption investigation to go on trial. Huizar, who pleaded guilty to racketeering and tax evasion charges, was sentenced in January to 13 years in prison. More than a halfdozen others have been convicted or pleaded guilty to federal charges, including Huizar's brother, Salvador Huizar.

“This case was, and always has been, about Jose Huizar,” Hanusz said.

Hanusz agreed that Huizar and the others were corrupt. But he said while Huizar accepted flights to Las Vegas, casino chips and lavish hotel stays, Chan received none of those things.

Chan, while working with developers, was motivated not by greed but by a desire to make Los Angeles more business-friendly, Hanusz said.