Blue State Lawmaker Hit With Corruption Charges

Los Angeles City Councilmember Curren Price, a Democrat, is facing additional corruption charges after new evidence revealed that the city’s housing authority and LA Metro paid Price’s wife more than $800,000.

On Tuesday, the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office announced that two new public corruption charges had been filed against the embattled lawmaker. The latest charges build on the existing case against Price, which has existed since 2023.

In June of that year, he was charged with five felony counts of embezzlement of government funds, three felony counts of perjury and two felony counts of conflict of interest.

Prosecutors allege that Del Richardson & Associates, a company owned solely by Price’s wife, Delbra Pettice Richardson, received payments totaling upwards of $150,000 between 2019 and 2021 from developers who had been green-lit for city contracts by the councilman. Price is also accused of embezzling approximately $33,800 in city funds from 2013-2017 to pay for medical benefits for Richardson, who he falsely claimed was his wife while still legally married to Lynn Suzette Price,” Fox 11 Los Angeles reported.

Price pleaded not guilty to those charges in December 2023 and was released.

Price (right) presents an award to Nia Long alongside former Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti in 2015

According to prosecutors, subpoenas issued as part of the case uncovered additional evidence of public corruption. On August 11, prosecutors filed two additional counts of conflict of interest against Price.

Between October 22, 2019 and June 30, 2020 the Housing Authority of the City of Los Angeles allegedly paid Del Richardson & Associates approximately $609,600. Over this time period, Price voted to support a $35 million federal grant and a state grant application for $252 million for the agency, the DA’s office announced Tuesday.

The projects were flagged as a potential conflict of interest by members of Price’s staff.

In addition, LA Metro paid Del Richardson & Associates approximately $219,500 between October 27, 2020 and October 20, 2021. During that time, Price voted in favor of a motion to award $30 million to LA Metro, which was once again flagged as a potential conflict of interest by the councilman’s staff.

“It is further alleged that Price took advantage of his position in city government to award city lease agreements and over $2 million in federal COVID-19 grants to the nonprofit Home at Last. Home at Last was a paying tenant of the Urban Healthcare Project at the time of the votes. Price served as CEO of Urban Healthcare Project during the time of these votes. These funds were intended for homelessness efforts,” the DA’s office wrote in a statement.

If convicted, Price faces a maximum of 11 years and four months behind bars, including up to nine years and four months in state prison and up to two years in county jail.

“Our communities expect and deserve better from their public officials. I thank our investigative team and prosecutors in the Public Integrity Division for diligently pursuing every lead and holding elected officials accountable. Self-dealing and pay-to-play politics will not be tolerated in Los Angeles County,” DA Nathan Hochman said Tuesday.