LOS ANGELES – UCLA’s Jackie Robinson Stadium on the VA’s West Los Angeles campus was locked down Thursday after a federal judge ordered the facility closed until the university submits a proposal for the stadium grounds to be used primarily for the benefit of the military veterans for whom the land was originally deeded. The shut-down order came at the conclusion of a daylong hearing Wednesday in which U.S. District Judge David O. Carter voiced frustration at UCLA and other ex-leaseholders at the VA’s West Los Angeles campus for not offering satisfactory uses for land that he ruled has been…
Author: Fred Shuster
LOS ANGELES – In a hard-hitting, sometimes-shocking ruling that blasts the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs for “turning its back” on the disabled veterans it was designed to help, a federal judge Friday ordered additional housing for veterans on the agency’s West Los Angeles campus. U.S. District Judge David O. Carter also determined that the department has been illegally leasing portions of the campus to a private school, UCLA’s baseball team, an oil company, and other private interests. In the 125-page ruling, Carter wrote that the “cost of the VA’s inaction is veterans’ lives.” The judge’s findings were issued Friday…
LOS ANGELES – Disgraced former Los Angeles City Councilman José Huizar was granted a delay in the start of his 13-year prison term — previously scheduled for Friday — due to confidential medical matters, according to new court filings. Huizar had been ordered to surrender to the Bureau of Prisons no later than noon Friday. However, U.S. District Judge John F. Walter granted a five-week continuance on Thursday for “good cause.” Huizar must now surrender to the BOP no later than Oct. 7, the result of convictions for accepting bribes from downtown developers and cheating on his taxes. Papers filed…
LOS ANGELES – Seven defendants face federal criminal charges in an indictment alleging a Santa Clarita Valley man orchestrated a “crime tourism” group that targeted stores and private homes throughout Southern California and elsewhere, then laundered millions of dollars in illicit proceeds, officials announced Wednesday. The indictment, unsealed in Los Angeles federal court, charges the defendants — six of whom were arrested Wednesday in a series of raids in Los Angeles, Orange and Ventura counties — with multiple felony offenses, including wire fraud, money laundering, conspiracy, and structuring transactions to avoid financial reporting requirements. “These criminals were running a burglary…
LOS ANGELES – Convicted former Los Angeles City Councilman José Huizar is seeking to extend the date he must report to federal prison to begin his 13-year term for accepting bribes from downtown developers and cheating on his taxes, according to a court filing obtained Tuesday. Huizar was ordered at sentencing to surrender to the Bureau of Prisons no later than April 30. However, new papers filed in Los Angeles federal court indicate he is seeking to continue that date to Aug. 30 for medical reasons. In a filing Monday seeking to have his request be filed under seal, Huizar’s…
LOS ANGELES – Raymond Chan coordinated bribes for himself and convicted ex-city councilman José Huizar in a scheme to soak developers in exchange for getting building projects approved at City Hall, a prosecutor told a federal criminal jury in downtown Los Angeles Tuesday, but the defense countered that the former deputy mayor was motivated only by “love of his adopted city” and did nothing illegal. Chan, 67, of Monterey Park, is facing a dozen federal counts, including racketeering conspiracy, two types of bribery and lying to federal agents for his alleged role in a pay-to-play scheme that prosecutors say monetized…
LOS ANGELES – Mayor Karen Bass said Friday the city would foot the bill for an independent audit of her signature Inside Safe initiative to combat homelessness in answer to a Los Angeles federal judge’s questions about the program’s transparency in light of alleged missed deadlines by the city in moving homeless residents out of the city’s largest encampments and under a roof. Bass, who is currently in France, spoke to U.S. District Judge David Carter by telephone early Friday, agreeing that the court will have final say in choosing an auditor, the judge said during the brief resumption of…