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Former Anaheim Mayor Agrees to Plead Guilty to Federal Charges
SANTA ANA, California – Harish “Harry” Singh Sidhu, 66, of Anaheim, has agreed to plead guilty to federal felony charges for obstructing an FBI public corruption investigation by destroying evidence and for making false statements to FBI agents, the Justice Department announced today.
Prosecutors today filed a criminal information charging Sidhu with one count of obstruction of justice, one count of wire fraud, and two counts of making false statements to the FBI and the FAA. In a plea agreement also filed today, Sidhu agreed to plead guilty to the four offenses.
According to his plea agreement, Sidhu – a longtime member of the Anaheim City Council who was elected mayor in 2018 – admitted that while the City of Anaheim was negotiating the sale of Angel Stadium to the Los Angeles Angels Major League Baseball club, he sought out and became a member of the city’s negotiating team for the stadium sale. While on the negotiating team, Sidhu provided confidential information belonging to the city to people working for the Angels, so that the Angels could buy Angel Stadium on favorable terms for the baseball club.
After secretly providing the information he had received in his position as mayor, Sidhu later was recorded saying he expected a $1 million campaign contribution from the Angels after the baseball club purchased Angel Stadium, the plea agreement states.
“While serving as Anaheim’s mayor, Mr. Sidhu took a series of actions that compromised the city’s negotiating position by providing confidential information and secretly working to influence the city’s decision-making process – all of which had a detrimental effect on the city and its residents,” said First Assistant United States Attorney Joseph T. McNally.
Sidhu admitted that he knowingly destroyed evidence by deleting multiple email messages and documents with the intent to impede and obstruct the FBI’s investigation of public corruption related to the city’s attempted sale of Angel Stadium. In the plea agreement, Sidhu specifically admitted he deleted an email message he had sent on July 21, 2020, with an attachment drafted by lawyers for the city, which contained confidential negotiation information related to the potential sale of Angel Stadium, including a discussion of issues related to price.
“Public confidence in the integrity of public officials is critical to our society. This office will continue to root out public officials who compromise their integrity,” said First Assistant United States Attorney Joseph T. McNally.
The public places a lot of trust and confidence in elected officials, which Mr. Sidhu violated, said Special Agent in Charge Tyler Hatcher, IRS Criminal Investigation, Los Angeles Field Office. Working with our law enforcement partners, we were able to prevent Mr. Sidhu from causing greater harm to the Anaheim community.
Sidhu also admitted in his plea agreement that he deleted a September 2020 email message about secret mock Anaheim City Council meetings involving Sidhu, two other City Council members and representatives of the Angels – including the team president and a team lawyer. Those mock City Council meetings would precede the scheduled public City Council meeting about the city’s proposed sale of Angel Stadium.
Key Facts
- State: California
- Category: Public Corruption
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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