LOS ANGELES, California – Former Los Angeles City Councilmember Mitchell Englander was sentenced to 14 months in federal prison for his conduct surrounding his obstruction of a public corruption investigation into his acceptance of gifts, including $15,000 in cash, from a businessman during trips to Las Vegas and Palm Springs in 2017.
Englander, 50, of Santa Monica, was sentenced this morning by United States District Judge John F. Walter, who noted that Englander’s ‘elaborate and clandestine scheme’ to cover up his conduct has ‘undermined the public trust.’ In declining Englander’s request for probation, Judge Walter stated that ‘justice [was] owed to society.’ In addition to the prison term, Judge Walter ordered Englander to pay a $15,000 fine.
At the conclusion of this morning’s two-hour hearing, Englander became the first person to be sentenced in relation to Operation ‘Casino Loyale,’ the ongoing corruption investigation into Los Angeles City Hall that has also led to criminal charges against former City Councilmember Jose Huizar and 10 other defendants.
Englander, who represented Los Angeles City Council District 12 in the San Fernando Valley for more than seven years before resigning at the end of 2018 with almost two years left on his term, pleaded guilty last July to one count of scheming to falsify material facts.
Englander schemed to cover up cash payments, expensive meals, escort services, and other gifts offered to him from an individual identified as Businessperson A, who sought to increase his business opportunities in the city. From August 2017 until December 2018, Englander knowingly and willfully falsified and concealed material facts pertaining to the federal public corruption investigation.
Englander, while serving as a city councilmember and a reserve officer with the Los Angeles Police Department, ‘illicitly cashed in on his status as a purported public servant in casino bathrooms and through VIP bottle service, luxury dinners, and behind hotel room doors,’ prosecutors wrote in a sentencing memorandum.
During the trip to Las Vegas, Englander accepted from Businessperson A an envelope with $10,000 in cash, a hotel room, $1,000 in casino gambling chips, $34,000 in bottle service at a nightclub, and a $2,481 group dinner. Businessperson A also paid for two female escorts to arrive at their hotel and later instructed one of the escorts to go to Englander’s room.
Defendant: Mitch Englander
Criminal Charges: Scheming to falsify material facts
City and State: Los Angeles, California
Date: February 27, 2024
Sentence: 14 months in federal prison and $15,000 fine
Amounts: $15,000 in cash, $10,000 in cash, $1,000 in casino gambling chips, $34,000 in bottle service, $2,481 group dinner, and $5,000 in cash.
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Key Facts
- State: California
- Category: Public Corruption
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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