He kept thousands of text messages. He took photos of bribe money . He recorded his boss, then-Los Angeles City Councilmember Jose Huizar, demanding that money in a City Hall bathroom.
George Esparza, a central figure in Huizar’s sprawling pay-to-play operation, provided federal prosecutors with a huge trove of evidence for their investigation into bribes from downtown real estate developers seeking city support for their projects. He met with prosecutors more than two dozen times and provided crucial testimony at four separate trials, his attorney said. On Friday, U.
S. Dist. Judge John F.
Walter called Esparza’s cooperation “nothing short of extraordinary.” He sentenced Esparza to three years of probation, even after pointing out that Esparza had committed a long list of crimes himself. “In my 20 years as a district court judge .
.. I have not seen a defendant who has provided such extensive and helpful cooperation to the government,” Walter said.
Esparza, 38, had faced the possibility of several years in prison. He initially lied to FBI agents who were investigating City Hall corruption, eventually pleading guilty in 2020 to a single count of conspiring to violate federal anti-racketeering law. For years, Esparza served as a front man for Huizar, relaying the council member’s demands for bribes or other financial benefits using coded language.
Nevertheless, prosecutors recommended that Esparza receive no prison time, saying he had taken responsibility for his c.