The Laurel City Council has approved the purchase of Laurel Racquet and Health Club, 204 Fort Meade Road, for the purpose of creating a multi-service center for organizations that provide help for those in need.
Developer agrees to pay $1.2M to resolve Huizar-related fed charges in L.A.
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José Huizar
LOS ANGELES - A company has agreed to pay $1.2 million to resolve a federal criminal investigation that focused on the firm s relationship with former Los Angeles City Councilmember José Huizar, who voted to approve its 35-story project in downtown s Arts District, it was announced Thursday.
CP Employer Inc., formerly known as Carmel Partners Inc., agreed to make the payment in a non-prosecution agreement with the U.S. Attorney s Office. The three-year NPA with CP Employer is the latest development in the ongoing investigation into a wide-ranging pay-to-play scheme in which developers bribed Los Angeles city officials to secure official acts to benefit their real estate projects.
Photo illustration by Alexis Manrodt for The Real Deal (Getty, iStock)
It was the fall of 2017 and Los Angeles City Council Member Jose Huizar needed a word with a longtime staffer about two real estate projects pending before the council.
In advance of hearings, Huizar wanted to make sure the projects’ developers had funneled thousands of dollars to a fund set up to elect Huizar’s wife, Richelle Huizar, as his successor.
“All commitments have been made,” his staffer, George Esparza, assured him.
The exchange was one of many startling details in the 138-page superseding indictment of Huizar that federal prosecutors handed down Nov. 30.