Los Angeles City Council President Paul Krekorian filed a motion Wednesday, June 14, to start the process of suspending fellow Councilmember Curren Price, who faces embezzlement and perjury charges and is the latest in a string of L.A. City Hall officials who have been embroiled in corruption scandals.
A motion by Councilmember Marqueece Harris-Dawson was also filed, calling on the city attorney to report to the council on eligibility requirements for any potential appointee to replace Price, and for a staff report on options for selecting a voting representative for Price’s Council District 9 that would include input from residents of the district.
District 9 is a heavily Latino district that includes most of South L.A. and Exposition Park.
Price — who has been a powerhouse on the City Council — did not attend Wednesday’s council meeting. At the start of the meeting, Krekorian said that even though the charges against Price are serious, the council must not neglect other important city matters.
“We will continue to make sure that we are not deterred from that business and will continue to make sure that all of the people of the city, including the people of Ninth District, are represented fully and their interests are taken into account and protected,” Krekorian said.
Price was charged on Tuesday by the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office. He faces five counts of grand theft by embezzlement, three counts of perjury and two counts of conflict of interest.
The criminal complaint the District Attorney’s office filed alleges that Price effectively embezzled money between 2013 and 2017 by getting the city to cover about $33,800 in medical premiums for his partner, Del Richardson, to whom he claimed to be married, even though he was still married to Lynn Suzette Price. In addition, the complaint said that between 2019 and 2021, Price’s wife’s consulting firm, Del Richardson & Associates, received more than $150,000 from a pair of…
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