Former LADWP exec to be sentenced in corruption scandal
A former executive for the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power is scheduled to be sentenced Monday on federal charges for accepting bribes as part of a massive corruption case, involving a failed billing system, which has roiled the agency.
David H. Wright, 62, of Riverside, accepted bribes from a lawyer in exchange for supporting a $30 million, no-bid DWP contract, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office. The lawyer named in the case, Paul O. Paradis, pleaded guilty to a federal bribery count and is awaiting sentencing.
Wright admitted in his plea agreement that he accepted kickbacks and participated in "corrupt schemes" while leading the municipal utility.
The cases against Wright and Paradis were the first criminal charges arising out of the investigation into a failed billing system rollout and subsequent litigation. The failed system led to many customers receiving wildly inflated bills.
Wright was the DWP general manager from September 2016 until July 2019, when prosecutors say he was removed from office by L.A. Mayor Eric Garcetti after the FBI raided LADWP and the L.A. City Attorney's Office.
Wright developed a relationship with Paradis, an Arizona attorney hired by the City Attorney's Office to represent the city in litigation against the contractor involved in the introduction of the 2013 billing system.
According to prosecutors, Wright and Paradis struck a deal in early 2017, with Wright supporting a "no-bid" $30 million LADWP contract for Paradis' company Aventador Utility Services LLC. In exchange, Paradis agreed to give Wright a million-dollar-per-year job as Aventador's CEO once he left LADWP, with the deal also including a luxury company car for Wright, officials said.
Paradis and his New York-based law firm also had a $6 million LADWP contract to provide project management services in efforts to repair the faulty billing system. At the same time, however, Paradis was representing a DWP customer who planned to sue the city over the system.
Paradis admitted in his plea agreement that he accepted a nearly $2.2 million kickback for getting another attorney to represent his ratepayer client in the lawsuit against LADWP -- a suit that ultimately resulted in a universal, class-action settlement that critics contended was overly favorable to the city.
Paradis, 58, is expected to be sentenced in July.
After the faulty billing system was unveiled, the city and utility faced multiple class-action lawsuits filed by ratepayers alleging harm resulting from the program.
Thomas H. Peters, 55, of Pacific Palisades, a former senior official at the City Attorney's Office, pleaded guilty in January to a federal extortion charge and is cooperating in the probe. He is expected to be sentenced in August.
David F. Alexander, 54, of Arcadia, a former senior cyber official at the utility, pleaded guilty to a felony charge of making false statements and is set for sentencing June 7.