The clown car that is the Los Angeles City Council is being rocked by scandal yet again. And it's another day ending in "Y."
Ninth District Councilman Curren Price, who has held the seat for decades, must face trial for embezzlement and corruption charges, despite his efforts to skirt accountability.
A Los Angeles city councilmember accused of embezzling public funds and other corruption offenses has again been ordered to stand trial after a judge rejected his latest attempt to have the case dismissed. https://t.co/3hQT3XtA79 pic.twitter.com/kHDei665Tn
— KTLA (@KTLA) August 10, 2026
A Los Angeles city councilmember accused of embezzling public funds and other corruption offenses has again been ordered to stand trial after a judge rejected his latest attempt to have the case dismissed.
Councilmember Curren Price, who represents parts of South Los Angeles and downtown, faces 12 felony charges, including five counts of embezzlement of government funds, four counts of conflict of interest and three counts of perjury.
Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Larry Paul Fidler on Friday rejected Price’s motion to set aside the case, finding that prosecutors presented “ample evidence” during a preliminary hearing to support a probable cause finding.
This may be shocking to hear (/sarc), but this is not Price's first rodeo. Since 2017, the stench of mendacity has emanated from Price's corner: whether it was allegations of bigamy, shady pay-to-play real estate deals, or embezzlement. A 2023 indictment, where Price was charged with perjury and embezzlement by then-Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascón. Gascón was the soft-on-crime woke D.A. who got booted in 2024, so the fact that Price was even charged by the office was quite a feat. These charges were connected to a 2017 complaint that was ignored by former L.A. DA Jackie Lacey, where Price essentially steered the Planning & Land Use (PLUM) Committee to demolish rent-controlled housing, which was owned by the clients of Price's wife. Conflict of interest, much?
Former D.A. Jackie Lacey claimed in 2017 to be “reviewing a complaint” about Price, but she did nothing to stop him from voting to demolish the rent controlled buildings owned by his wife’s clients. Angelenos have been made homeless by these votes, and we are sure that some have died on the streets. Handsome and useful buildings have been or soon will be destroyed, contributing to the manufactured homelessness crisis that is sucking up all civic resources and making public space unusable by those housed or unhoused.
Then in 2024, the Los Angeles City Council Ethics Commission charged Price with 21 violations of council ethics laws. Now Price is forced to face the 2025 charges mentioned above.
Yet, Price sits pretty. While he is now facing trial, he still continues to have his dirty hands in council business. Even worse, Price remains Chair of the Public Safety Committee.
Are you kidding me?!
This is a horrible look, reflecting not just the malaise exhibited by his fellow council members, which results in this disregard, but the citizens of Los Angeles who assume (sometimes correctly), that nothing will really be done. We are no longer shocked or outraged by corruption, so it's simply just business as usual unless and until a conviction happens.
Curren Price is charged with: 12 felony public corruption counts (5 counts of embezzlement of public funds; 3 counts of perjury; 4 counts of conflict of interest). The People presented evidence to a judge at a public preliminary hearing - held to answer.
— jonathanhatami (@jonathanhatami) August 11, 2026
Second judge - upheld… https://t.co/MPQKOsyGUj
But accountability does sometimes happen in L.A. Here’s a brief reminder of some of the Los Angeles City Council corruption that has at least resulted in convictions and jail time:
In 2021, Republican Councilman Mitch Englander pled guilty to bribery and fraud, and is now serving time in Club Fed.
In 2023, Democrat Councilman Jose Huizar pled guilty to racketeering, tax evasion, and abuse of his office. Huizar is also serving time.
In 2023, Democrat Councilman Mark Ridley-Thomas, who had a long (and questionable) career on the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors before moving his corruption back to local government, was convicted of bribery and conspiracy, as well as abuse of his office. The kicker? Despite being sentenced to three-and-a-half years in prison, Ridley-Thomas remained out on bail while he appealed his conviction.
Ridley-Thomas was convicted in 2023 in downtown Los Angeles on federal counts of conspiracy, bribery concerning programs receiving federal funds, and honest services mail and wire fraud. He was subsequently sentenced to three years and six months in federal prison, but the judge granted the longtime politician’s bid for bail pending appeal.
In August, the United States Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit upheld the conviction; so, hopefully Ridley-Thomas will join his buddies Huizar and Englander in the pokey to serve out his sentence.
While corruption gets rooted out in Los Angeles and justice sometimes occurs, it comes far too slowly. Solomon said in Ecclesiastes: "When the sentence for a crime is not quickly carried out, people’s hearts are filled with schemes to do wrong."
These indictments and convictions need to be executed much more quickly, become broader, and have further reach. Former corrupt Councilman and former Mayor of Los Angeles Eric Garcetti had his hands in many of these pies; yet, after he engineered the destruction of Los Angeles and allegedly covered up the sexual assault of one of his staff members, Garcetti got a two-year vacation to India thanks to a President Joe Biden ambassadorship. Garcetti has come back to Los Angeles and is peddling his wares as an adviser to an AI company. So, this drip, drip, drip tends to make minimal impact, especially when Price and his ilk still hold their seats of power and still control the run of a once-vibrant city.
Editor’s Note: The 2026 Midterms will determine the fate of President Trump’s America First agenda. Republicans must maintain control of both chambers of Congress.
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