Corruption case against L.A. Councilmember Curren Price can move to trial, judge rules
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A Los Angeles County judge ruled Wednesday that a corruption case against L.A.City Councilman Curren Price can move forward to trial, ensuring the misconduct scandal will hang over the veteran politician’s final year in office.L.A.
County Superior Court Judge Shelly Torrealba determined that prosecutors had provided enough evidence to move forward on four counts of voting on matters in which Price had a conflict of interest, four counts of embezzlement and four counts of perjury.Price, who is set to leave the City Council after reaching his term limit at the end of the year, declined to comment after the hearing.The councilman, who has represented South L.A.
for more than a decade, was charged in June 2023.Prosecutors allege Price repeatedly voted to approve sales of land to developers or funding for agencies who had done business with his wife, Del Richardson, and her consulting company.
Some of the votes involved funding and grants for the L.A.County Metropolitan Transportation Authority and the city housing authority.
California Curren Price has survived a tumultuous and scandal-ridden time in L.A.City Hall.
A long-delayed court proceeding that began this week could influence how he is remembered and whether his hand-picked successor is elected to replace him on the City Council.Price, 75, is also accused of perjury for failing to include Richardson’s income on disclosure forms and embezzlement for including her on his city health insurance plan before they were legally married.He is due back in court in March, Torrealba said.
Richardson was named as a “suspect” in the district attorney’s office’s initial investigation in 2022, according to documents made public last year, but she was never charged with a crime.She has been among a group of Price’s supporters who have been in court for the past week.
The two wore matching burgundy suits during Wednesday’...