Former Los Angeles City Councilman Mitchell Englander was sentenced Monday to 14 months in prison and fined $15,000 for lying to federal authorities about secret cash payments and a debauched night in Las Vegas he received from a businessman seeking introductions to real estate developers.
Judge John F. Walter of U.S. District Court in Los Angeles said Englander had shown arrogance and greed in “brazenly” covering up his misconduct, and he rejected his explanation that he’d simply been trying to protect his reputation.
“There’s simply no adequate explanation as to how he totally lost his moral compass and committed this crime,” Walter said by video at sentencing hearing conducted by Zoom.
Englander, 50, is the first person to be sentenced in a sprawling federal investigation into corruption at Los Angeles City Hall. He pleaded guilty in July to falsifying material facts, a felony.
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