Jose Huizar, the former member of the L.A. City Council who was charged with accepting bribes from developers in exchange for approving their Downtown L.A. projects, wants a separate trial from his co-defendant, the former deputy mayor Raymond Chan.
The request was revealed in court papers obtained by City News Service on Thursday.
In the motion, which was filed in L.A. federal court, Huizar’s attorneys outlined what they believe to be Chan’s defense strategy: An argument that “Mr. Chan is merely an innocent bystander who got swept up as a narrative device in a misguided RICO theory,” the City News Service reported. RICO refers to a 1970 federal law, the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act, that was enacted to combat official corruption and organized crime.
The L.A. City Hall corruption case, among the most explosive the city has seen in decades, stretches back to 2018, when federal agents raided Huizar’s home and council office. He was subsequently arrested and charged with numerous counts related to bribery, money laundering, wire fraud and lying to law enforcement. Prosecutors alleged that, as chairman of the council’s powerful Planning and Land Use Management Committee, Huizar orchestrated a pay-to-play scheme in which he ultimately took in roughly $1.5 million in bribes and gifts.
Multiple public officials and developers were ensnared in the scandal, including Chan, who was accused of arranging employment contracts of city officials’ relatives.
Chan and Huizar are scheduled to head to trial together in February. In court documents, a defense lawyer for Huizar stated that he determined a separate trial for his client is necessary after reviewing the “voluminous discovery produced by the government, observing the last two trials, and weighing different tactical approaches.”
Earlier this year juries came back with guilty verdicts against a developer and two development firms involved in the case.
— Trevor Bach
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