Former L.A. Commissioner Wong Convicted

0

Former L.A. city commissioner Leland Wong was convicted Thursday on 14 felony charges stemming from a probe into alleged “pay-to-play” corruption practices during the administration of former Mayor James Hahn.


Wong, 51, was convicted of accepting a bribe, perjury, conflict of interest, grand theft and filing a false tax return. He was acquitted on six other grand theft counts and one count of conflict of interest.


Wong, who served on the airport, harbor and water commissions, was charged with taking $100,000 in bribes from a Taiwan-based company as part of a port deal with the Evergreen Group shipping line while he served on the Los Angeles World Airport and Department of Water & Power commissions. He was also charged with embezzlement from his private sector employer, Kaiser Permanente.


Wong is the only city official to date prosecuted in the “pay-to-play” corruption probe that dogged the Hahn administration and hampered Hahn’s re-election campaign. The probe centered on charges that city contractors were forced to make political contributions to causes backed by the former mayor in order to receive contracts.


Wong remains free on his own recognizance pending a sentencing hearing scheduled for Sept. 25.

Previous article First California Financial Group Misses Estimates
Next article MGA To Seek Mistrial in Bratz Case
Howard Fine
Howard Fine is a 23-year veteran of the Los Angeles Business Journal. He covers stories pertaining to healthcare, biomedicine, energy, engineering, construction, and infrastructure. He has won several awards, including Best Body of Work for a single reporter from the Alliance of Area Business Publishers and Distinguished Journalist of the Year from the Society of Professional Journalists.

No posts to display