Raymond Chan case: Jury selection begins in ex-deputy mayor trial connected to José Huizar

Jury selection was scheduled to begin Tuesday morning in the trial of former Los Angeles deputy mayor Raymond Chan on federal public corruption charges.

Prosecutors alleged the charged are connected to a City Hall-based bribery scheme run by convicted ex-Los Angeles City Councilman José Huizar.

Raymond Chan is charged with 12 criminal counts, including racketeering conspiracy, bribery, honest services fraud and lying to federal agents.

Chan, 66, of Monterey Park, is accused of being a member of what prosecutors dubbed the Council District 14 "enterprise," a conspiracy that operated as a pay-to-play scheme in which Huizar and others unlawfully used his office to give favorable treatment to real estate developers who financed and facilitated bribes and other illicit benefits.

Huizar pleaded guilty last month in Los Angeles federal court to felony charges for using his powerful position at City Hall to enrich himself and his associates, and for cheating on his taxes. He faces multiple years behind bars at sentencing on April 3.

As a deputy mayor who oversaw economic development for ex-Mayor Eric Garcetti in 2016 and 2017, Chan is charged with allegedly arranging indirect bribe payments to city officials by lining up employment contracts for the officials' relatives.

Chan worked for the city for almost 36 years, serving at one point as the top executive overseeing the Department of Building and Safety, which reviews building plans and inspects construction projects.

Chan's attorney denies that Chan broke any laws. He said Chan is an honest former public employee who was "merely an innocent bystander who got swept up as a narrative device in a misguided RICO theory."

Before Huizar signed his plea deal, he and Chan were scheduled to go on trial together.