New Corruption Charges for L.A. Councilwoman
Los Angeles City Councilwoman Curren Price is facing fresh corruption charges after being previously accused, along with his wife, of embezzling $800,000 intended for housing and public transportation.
Price was officially charged on Tuesday with two counts of corruption. It’s alleged that he approved funding for city housing authorities and secured state and federal grants in return for almost $1 million in payments to his wife’s consulting firm between 2019 and 2021.
Things have not been looking good for Price. With the backing of Mayor Karen Bass, he is already dealing with allegations of grand theft, perjury, and conflict of interest linked to his vote on a project that supposedly resulted in a $150,000 kickback to his wife, Del Richardson.
“Misappropriating public funds and granting contracts for personal gain goes against the very essence of public service,” stated Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan Hochman.
Prosecutors claim that over $600,000 was funneled to Richardson’s firm, Del Richardson & Associates, within just nine months during 2019 and 2020. Concurrently, Price purportedly voted for a federal grant totaling $35 million and a state grant of $252 million.
From 2020 to 2021, Richardson’s company reportedly received around $200,000 from Lametro, while Price continued to vote in favor of other funding allocations, including $30 million in public funds.
Additionally, Price reportedly directed $2 million to a nonprofit housing organization he headed during the Covid-19 pandemic, according to the DA.
Price’s attorney, Michael Schaffler, has ridiculed the new charges as a politically motivated attack based on selective scrutiny of his voting history.
“They’re going back six years, examining thousands of votes and scrutinizing inconsistencies in hopes of ignoring the fact that there’s no proof Price was aware of any improper dealings when he voted,” Schaffler stated.
On the other hand, the DA’s office contends that Price’s staff flagged potential concerns regarding those votes. Price has been in office since 2013, having been re-elected in 2017 with Mayor Bass’s endorsement.
These new allegations add to a growing list of scandals plaguing Los Angeles governance. This year alone, former councilman Jose Huizar pleaded guilty to assault and tax evasion, while veteran politician Mark Ridley-Thomas was sentenced to federal prison for a bribery scandal involving a university dean.
Last year, Mayor Bass appointed Janisse Quinones as head of the Water and Power Department with a hefty salary of around $750,000. In another incident, she terminated Fire Chief Christine Crowley due to a mishandled response to a fire, a decision that followed a wave of controversies surrounding the fire department’s leadership.
