Los Angeles City Councilman John Lee repeatedly violated the city’s gift laws in 2016 and 2017, accepting freebies during trips back from Las Vegas and at several restaurants in LA.
In Proposed Decision 59, Administrative Law Judge Ji-Lan Zang concluded that two counts of violating the law governing the size of gifts a city official could also receive three counts of violating the law requiring disclosure of such gifts.
Zhang recommended a fine of $43,730 for Lee, who represents the western San Fernando Valley and was the chief of staff to Councilmedmermember Mitchell Mitchell Mitchell Mitchen. However, the judge did not agree with the allegations of linking the City’s policies
In 2020, Federal prosecutors accused Elser of accepting $15,000 in cash from businessman Andy Wang, naming the FBI to investigate the 2017 Vegas trip. ENCAPER eventually pleaded guilty to one count of providing false information to the FBI and was sentenced to 14 months in prison.
The Los Angeles City Ethics Commission of Angeles is scheduled to be scheduled to work on Wednesday, determining both the number of violations Lee committed and any financial penalties to impose.
The commission has the power to accept or reject Zhang’s recommendations. Ethics investigators recommended that the commission take a more punitive approach by fining Lee $138,000 and holding him accountable for all 10 charges.
The lee case includes gifts – mainly food and alcohol but also hotel stays, transportation and $ 1,000 gambling cabins – Italian technology, “home software”; architect and engineer Chris Pak; and Lobbyist Michael Bai.
The judge issued his report six months after a multi-day hearing on the allegations against Lee, who moved to the Council in 2019.
In those proceedings, Lee denies that he improperly accepted gifts, said that he made a good faith effort to pay his way and, in some cases, refused to eat at meal times. For example, he testified that he did not remember eating during his meetings at Yxta Cocina Mexicana and Wild Grill, both in Downtown La
Zhang, in his report, called Lee’s Denials “unreliable,” describing his testimony as “going through self-contradictions and contradictions.” ” He said Lee’s testimony also discussed the information he gave to the FBI during its investigation of Englandander, as well as the testimony of other witnesses.
“It’s hard to believe that [Lee] he was going to join Englandl, in Bai, and cleaned lunch at Yxta and dinner at the water grill without eating any food during the meal,” he wrote.
Ethics investigators accused Lee of receiving additional gifts during a 2017 Vegas trip with Engciper and several others. Lee and a group of friends stayed at the Aria Hotel and spent the evening at Hakasan nightclub, according to city allegations.
At the hotel restaurant, Bleosm, Wang ordered a dinner worth about $ 2,500 for the group, which included some others, sending shark ark steaks, kobe beef, according to the summary of the event judge.
Lee testified that he arrived at the restaurant in time for the bird’s nest soup dessert, tasted it and decided he didn’t like it, the judge said in his deposition.
In Hakkasan later that night, Wang bought three rounds of the group’s Bottle Service for about $8,000, while Pak was paid for the fourth round for $8,418.75.
“Each round of bottle service was accompanied by fanfare, as VIP ushers brought bottles of liquor to a table lit by bright lights,” the judge wrote.
That night, at least 20 other clubbers went to Wang’s booth and drank alcohol at the table, according to the judge.
Lee has never been charged by federal prosecutors and has said he did not know Englander was wrong. In a filing filed last week, his attorneys said investigators improperly calculated the value of gifts, including bottles of alcohol, that were distributed among many people.
Lee gave Wang $300 in cash as reimbursement for his drinks, withdrawing money from an ATM in Las Vegas to cover those costs, his lawyers said.
In their response to the city, Lee’s attorneys argued that the statute of limitations expired in the city’s disciplinary hearing. They also backtracked on a recommendation from City Ethics Apprentices that Lee pay a $138,000 fine.
“Such inflated numbers are unwarranted, unconstitutional, and have no place in a fair and unworkable system,” they wrote in their filing.
Elsander previously agreed to pay $79,830 to settle a similar Ethics Commission Case over the gifts he received.
Ethics investigators have charged Lee with 10 counts of violating city rules – two counts of accepting illegal gifts, four counts of abuse of office.
In 2016, the legal limit on donations to city officials was $460 per donor. The following year, it was $470.
In Engcander’s 2020’s Federaltion hand, Lee was mentioned not by name, but instead was referred to as “City Staffer B.” Despite his legal problems, he won again in 2024.
