By FRED SHUSTER Disgraced former Los Angeles City Councilman José Huizar was granted a delay in the start of his 13-year prison term — previously scheduled for today — due to confidential medical matters, according to new court filings. Huizar had been ordered to surrender to the Bureau of Prisons no later than noon Friday. However, U.
S. District Judge John F. Walter granted a five-week continuance on Thursday for “good cause.
” Huizar must now surrender to the BOP no later than Oct. 7, the result of convictions for accepting bribes from downtown developers and cheating on his taxes. Papers filed in Los Angeles federal court show that defense attorneys sought a self-surrender date of Dec.
2 based on “a new, unexpected, and extraordinary event,” apparently connected to undisclosed medical reasons. The government did not object, documents show. In mid-April, the judge granted a continuance of surrender from April 30 to Aug.
30. Huizar’s attorney indicated at the time in a filing that his argument in support of the delay would contain “private medical information” and should be filed under seal. In a filing this week, Adam Olin, a deputy federal public defender representing Huizar, wrote that the new request for a continuance was related to the under-seal matters discussed in Huizar’s prior request for a continuance.
A spokesman for the U.S. Attorney’s Office on Friday declined comment.
Huizar, 55, pleaded guilty in January 2023 to felony charges of conspi.