L.A. Political Scandal: City Council Member John Lee Accused Of Accepting Excess Gifts From Developer During Vegas Trip
deadline.comLos Angeles City Councilman John Lee is facing accusations today from the city Ethics Commission of violating governmental ethics laws by accepting and failing to report excessive gifts, including some received during a trip to Las Vegas in 2017 that he took along with former Councilman Mitch Englander.
In 2020. Englander pleaded guilty and was sentenced to federal prison for lying to federal investigators looking into his alleged receipt of excessive cash and gifts.
Lee served as Englander’s chief of staff prior to being elected to the City Council. “In 2016 and 2017, including during a 2017 trip to Las Vegas, Lee accepted multiple gifts from a businessperson and a developer, most of which exceeded the gift limit,” maintains a statement from the city Ethics Commission. “Lee failed to publicly disclose those gifts on the California statement of economic interests (Form 700) that he was required to file when he left city service, and he never amended the form to disclose the gifts when he ran for Council District 12 in 2019 and 2020.” The city council has been rocked by a succession of scandals in the past few years.
Two former councilmembers – Englander and Mark Ridley Thomas – were sentenced to federal prison. Another, José Huizar, plead guilty to federal racketeering and tax evasion charges earlier this year.
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