Ex-LA lawmaker sentenced to prison following City Hall corruption investigation
On a trip to Las Vegas, Mitchell Englander accepted $34,000 in bottle service at a nightclub, $10,000 in cash, $1,000 in chips, and two female escorts
On Monday, former Los Angeles City Councilman Mitchell Englander, 50, was sentenced to 14 months and will begin serving time in June 2021. In July, the former lawmaker pleaded guilty to one count of scheming to falsify material facts after he attempted to manipulate an investigation against him for accepting inappropriate gifts such as cash and prostitutes.
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“He chose to lie and engage in this elaborate and clandestine scheme to hide his lies, making sure that Businessman A would also lie during his interviews with the FBI in order to coordinate lies,” said U.S. District Court Judge John F. Walter at Englander’s sentencing, per NBC News.
Englander pleaded guilty to his role in “Operation Casino Loyale,” an investigation conducted by the FBI looking into corruption at Los Angeles City Hall.
“Defendant’s obstruction campaign was calculated, extensive in scope and duration, and designed to mislead investigators,” Walter said before sentencing.
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Englander accepted gifts for his cooperation on a large and impactful city planning committee.
On a trip to Las Vegas, he accepted $34,000 in bottle service at a nightclub, $10,000 in cash, $1,000 in chips, and two female escorts. According to the reports, Englander invited one of the escorts back to his hotel room.
“I give no excuses, I own what I did and take responsibility 100 percent,” Englander told the judge. He continued, “I apologize to the court, to the FBI, to the community, my former constituents, and more importantly to my family, my wife, my daughters.”
Englander represented San Fernando Valley neighborhoods of Granada Hills, Chatsworth, and Northridge, which is LA’s City Council District 12. He started his term in July 2011 but abruptly resigned in 2018.
Former City Councilmember Jose Huizar, along with about a dozen others, were apart of the “Casino Loyale” probe. Huizar will stand trial on a 41-count racketeering indictment.
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