Los Angeles City Hall, the seat of the Los Angeles City Council, seen from outside. — Photo: Brion VIBBER, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0

Downtown Approval, Appeal Resolved: $500,000 Cash, Liquor Box Included

One Los Angeles mixed-use project, slightly used city council. Buyer: 940 Hill LLC. Delivery by fundraiser.

Sold2016–2017Local

$500,000≈ €447KAs stated in the source: $500,000 cash bribe

Already sold, to 940 Hill LLC, in 2016–2017. Nothing on Lobay is for sale.

Read the description

Seller

Role: city council member (chair of the planning and land use committee) and his special assistant
Institution: Los Angeles City Council
Place: Los Angeles, California
Country: United States

Item specifics

Condition	Convicted, final. Jury verdict 2022-06-27; sentenced 2023-07-21
Location	Los Angeles, California, US
Seller	City council member (planning committee chair) and his special assistant. Names withheld.
Winning bidder	940 Hill LLC
Category	Real estate
Sold	2016–2017
Payment method	Cash, via a fundraiser, including in a liquor box
Returns	No returns. Company fine: $1.5 million, five years of probation (2023)

Description

What the bribe bought

The bribe helped resolve a labour union's appeal against city approval of a downtown mixed-use project at 940 Hill Street, clearing its approval.

What happened

A developer's company, 940 Hill LLC, arranged cash totalling $500,000 for a Los Angeles city council member and his special assistant. The money went through a fundraiser, including in a liquor box. The aim was help in resolving a labour union's appeal against the downtown project. A jury found the developer guilty on June 27, 2022. On July 21, 2023, the court sentenced the company to five years of probation and a $1.5 million fine.

Read the article

LA developer who bribed member of city council gets 6 years in prison · Courthouse News Service · Archived copy

Shipping & returns

Authority	Kind	Amount	Year
U.S. District Court, Central District of California	fine and probation (940 Hill LLC)	$1.5M≈ €1.34MAs stated in the source: five years of probation and ordered it to pay the $1.5 million fine	2023
U.S. District Court, Central District of California	prison sentence and fine (majority owner)	$750,000≈ €670KAs stated in the source: six-year prison sentence ... $750,000 fine	2023