L.A. City Councilmember Curren Price was charged with 10 counts of embezzlement, perjury and conflict of interest Tuesday, the latest city official charged with public corruption in recent years.
Price, 72, has been charged with five counts of grand theft, three counts of perjury and two counts of conflict of interest, according to Tiffany Blacknell, a spokesperson for District Attorney George Gascón’s office. She did not offer further details on the charges.
Price has served on the council for 10 years and spent seven years before that in the state legislature. A spokesperson for Price was not immediately available for comment.
In a statement, a spokesperson for Mayor Karen Bass said, “The Mayor has yet to review the charges filed earlier today but she is saddened by this news.”
Prior public corruption cases
In March, a federal jury found former Councilmember Mark Ridley-Thomas guilty of bribery, conspiracy, and wire fraud. The case involved him extracting benefits for his son from USC while voting on issues that benefited the school during his time as a member of the county board of supervisors.
He has appealed the verdict.
In January, as part of a plea agreement, former Councilmember José Huizar pleaded guilty to federal charges of racketeering and tax evasion. The agreement includes Huizar promising not to ask for less than nine years in prison, while prosecutors agree not to request a sentence longer than 13 years.
His sentencing is set for later this year.
In 2021, former Councilmember Mitch Englander was sentenced to 14 months in prison after he agreed to plead guilty to a single count of scheming to obstruct an FBI corruption…
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