By Francis Taylor, Executive Editor
According to a recent report in the Los Angeles Times, former Inglewood City Council Member, and current Los Angeles City Council Member, Curren Price was indicted on Tuesday with five counts of embezzlement, three counts of perjury and two counts of conflict of interest. According to prosecutors in the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s office Price allegedly had a financial interest in development projects that he voted on and received $34,000 in medical benefits from the city for his wife.
The allegations come four years after a Los Angeles Times investigation uncovered questions about Price’s votes on matters involving his wife’s consulting company.
Between 2019 and 2021, Price’s wife allegedly received payments totaling more than $150,000 from developers before Price voted to approve projects, according to Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascón statement. He also is accused of failing to list the money his wife received on government disclosure forms.
“This alleged conduct undermines the integrity of our government and erodes the public’s trust in our elected officials,” Gascón said.
In the 2019 investigation, the Los Angeles Times found Price had “repeatedly cast votes that affected housing developers and other firms listed as clients of his wife’s consulting company. Price voted on decisions involving at least 10 companies in the same years they were listed as providing at least $10,000 in income to Del Richardson & Associates (DRA), according to his annual financial disclosures and council records reviewed by The Times.” At the time, Price denied any wrongdoing.
It is significant to note that over the course of 15 years DRA has provided, primarily, relocation services, with limited acquisition services during the past few years to the City of Inglewood. During this time, DRA provided relocation assistance services to over 500 residential and non-residential displacees. The residential cases were administered under FAA guidelines under the Aircraft Noise Mitigation Program (Formerly FAR Part 150 Noise Mitigation Program), and the non-residential cases were administered under California Title 25.
Price was first elected to the council in 2013 and currently serves as its president pro tempore. His district includes South Los Angeles and parts of the city’s downtown. His term is set to expire in 2026.
In a letter to the Los Angeles city council president, Paul Krekorian, Price said he was stepping down from committee assignments and leadership responsibilities “while I navigate through the judicial system to defend my name”. Krekorian said Tuesday evening he will move to suspend Price.
Price called the charges “unwarranted” and his spokesperson said Price “looks forward to defending himself once he’s had an opportunity to address these charges.
“The last thing I want to do is be a distraction to the people’s business,” Price wrote.
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