LOS ANGELES—Former Los Angeles City Councilman José Huizar will plead guilty to federal charges that outline a City Hall-based bribery and money laundering scheme in which he took more than $1.5 million in cash, gambling trips, and escorts in exchange for his support of a planned downtown hotel project, according to court papers obtained Jan. 19 by City News Service.
Huizar’s plea agreement to racketeering conspiracy and tax evasion was signed Jan. 18 and filed in Los Angeles federal court Thursday afternoon.
The document states that Huizar faces a sentence of up to 26 years behind bars once he pleads guilty, but he has agreed to a prison sentence of no less than nine years. A motion hearing in the case is on the calendar for Friday morning, but that could be updated to a hearing for Huizar to enter his plea….