LA City Councilman Curren Price (Photo by David Crane, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)
Los Angeles City Councilman Curren Price was charged on Tuesday, June 13, with theft by embezzlement, perjury and conflict of interest for allegedly voting on projects involving developers tied to his wife’s consulting firm, then failing to report the connections.
Related: A guide to corruption cases in LA City Hall
The criminal complaint also alleges that Price effectively embezzled money between 2013 and 2017 by having the city cover roughly $33,800 in medical premiums for Del Richardson, to whom he claimed to be married, although he was still married at the time to Lynn Suzette Price.
Price, 72, has represented the Ninth District, which includes most of South Los Angeles and Exposition Park, since 2013. He previously served in the state Assembly and state Senate.
The councilman was charged with five counts of grand theft by embezzlement, three counts of perjury and two counts of conflict of interest, according to a criminal complaint provided by the District Attorney’s Office. An arraignment date was not immediately set.
Price’s spokeswoman, Angelina Valencia-Dumarot, told City News Service, “We have not seen the charges filed against Council member Curren Price. It’s highly unusual for charges like this to be brought up against a sitting City Council member without any prior notice or discussion.
“Curren Price is a longstanding public servant who has given his life to the city of Los Angeles. He looks forward to defending himself once he’s had an opportunity to address these charges,” she said.
Zach Seidl, spokesman for Mayor Karen Bass, issued a statement saying, “The mayor has yet to review the charges filed earlier today but she is saddened by this news.”
According to the complaint, between 2019 and 2021, Price’s wife’s consulting firm, Del Ricardson & Associates, received payments totaling more than $150,000 from a pair of developers, after which Price voted on matters pertaining to the companies. He also allegedly failed to report the connections or the money paid to his wife’s company on city disclosure forms.
“Today’s charges against Councilman Curren Price are the result of a thorough investigation into allegations of public corruption,” District Attorney George Gascón said in a statement. “This alleged conduct undermines the integrity of our government and erodes the public’s trust in our elected officials. We will continue to work tirelessly to root out corruption at all levels and hold accountable those who betray the public’s trust.”
Los Angeles is no stranger to political scandal. Until recently, the leading drama involved disgraced former Los Angeles City Councilmember Jose Huizar, whose vast system of enrichment and corruption could easily be made into a Hollywood movie.
Councilman Mark Ridley-Thomas was convicted earlier this year of federal charges for trading votes during his time on the county Board of Supervisors in exchange for benefits provided by USC to his son.
The guilty verdict against Ridley-Thomas on March 30, for actions he took as a powerful Los Angeles County Supervisor, may go down in the history of modern L.A. political scandals as the most stunning legal outcome. He was convicted of federal bribery and conspiracy charges, along with mail and wire fraud, stemming from his time serving on the county Board of Supervisors and the favors he was accused of arranging for his son, from then-USC dean Marilyn Flynn.
Flynn pleaded guilty in September to bribery, admitting that she funneled $100,000 from Ridley-Thomas to USC, then to United Ways of California, which passed the money to a nonprofit run by Ridley-Thomas’ son.
Former City Council President Nury Martinez resigned last year after being caught on tape in a racially charged conversation with two other council members and a county labor official discussing the council’s redistricting process. Two candidates will face off in a ruff election to replace Martinez later this month.
Last October, a year-old secret recording surfaced in which Martinez, City Councilman Kevin de León and former City Councilman Gil Cedillo, as well as a powerful labor leader, were caught discussing how the city’s redistricting process – which determines how council district boundaries are drawn – might be manipulated to benefit their interests. The conversation was laced with racist comments that further angered many Angelenos.
Protests tied up the City Council for weeks. Even after Martinez resigned, protesters urged de León’s ouster. A bid to recall de León failed to failed to collect enough voter signatures to place a recall question on the ballot.
City Councilmember Mitchell Englander resigned his post and was later imprisoned in 2021, convicted of obstructing an FBI investigation into his acceptance of lavish gifts in Las Vegas from a businessman who sought favors from him. Records show he was released on Feb. 3, 2022.
Another corruption scandal focused on the L.A. Department of Water and Power and the City Attorney’s Office, following a 2019 FBI raid that targeted DWP and an internal scheme to rig DWP contracts and pay $2.2 million in kickbacks to private attorney Paul O. Paradis. The case involved a vast class action suit against DWP over a 2013 billing debacle in which overcharges were sent to thousands of Angelenos.
Huizar pleaded guilty in January 2023, and faces several years in prison. His sentencing has been delayed until September for taking more than $1.8 million in cash, gambling trips and escorts in exchange for supporting a proposed downtown hotel project that was never built. FBI agents in 2018 confiscated documents from Huizar’s office. Four years later he admitted to corruption. His benefactor, the billionaire developer Wei Huang, is on the lam.
City News Service and SCNG staff writers contributed to this report
