Jose Huizar sentenced to 13 years in prison

Ex-L.A. City Councilman José Huizar turned himself in on Monday to start his 13-year stretch behind bars.

Huizar, 56, showed up at the federal penitentiary after pleading guilty to one count of tax evasion and one count of conspiracy to violate the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act in January 2023. The disgraced politician from District 14 was knee-deep in a pay-to-play racket.

Prosecutors said Huizar shook down developers for bribes, promising to grease the wheels for their projects. He also confessed to cooking his books and using his office to line his own pockets and those of his cronies.

Judge John Walter said Huizar did "extraordinary harm to the political system in the city of Los Angeles" and "demeaned the integrity and work ethic" of other elected officials during the sentencing. He said the councilman's said success story is coming to an "incredible sad ending."

Huizar's surrender comes after two delays. Huizar was supposed to surrender in April, but it got pushed to August, then October. It's not clear as to why his prison date was postponed twice.

On top of jail time, Huizar has to pay nearly $444,000 to the city of L.A. and more than $38,000 to the IRS. Huizar was also ordered to enroll in alcohol and gambling addiction programs.

U.S. Attorney Martín Estrada, whose office prosecuted the case, said Huizar "used his power to use City Hall like his personal ATM and he treated the people who relied on City Hall like pawns in a chess game.”

Federal investigators began looking into L.A. City Hall for dirty dealing back in 2015. They soon zeroed in on Huizar, nailing the councilman with charges in 2020. Huizar's downfall ranks as one of L.A.'s biggest political scandals ever.

Huizar is the third former member of the L.A. City Council who was convicted in separate corruption cases in recent years.