Curren Worth’s political profession seems destined to finish earlier than his prison trial.
Prosecutors first charged the L.A. Metropolis Council member in 2023 with embezzlement, perjury and having a battle of curiosity in votes on Metropolis Council issues through which his spouse stood to learn.
A protracted-delayed preliminary listening to started this week, the place extra proof towards Worth might be put forth and a decide should resolve if prosecutors have sufficient proof to proceed. If it strikes ahead on the present charge, Worth’s case is nearly sure to pull on after he’s compelled from workplace by time period limits on the finish of 2026.
Worth, 75, is unlikely to face jail time even when convicted — and he’s anticipated to retire from public service on the finish of the 12 months after a long time as an elected official in Sacramento and Los Angeles. A few of his colleagues have questioned whether or not his alleged impropriety needs to be addressed by town’s ethics fee slightly than a jury.
However along with his preliminary listening to anticipated to final a number of extra days, extra proof towards Worth is changing into public — which means the implications of the case could echo past the courtroom.
There are seven candidates working to exchange Worth in November, together with his deputy chief of workers, Jose Ugarte. The gang attempting to upset Ugarte — Worth’s handpicked successor and the present favourite to win — might seize the second to shake up the first area. Ugarte has additionally confronted allegations of unethical conduct for failing to reveal earnings he made by means of lobbying and consulting work outdoors of Metropolis Corridor.
Ugarte — who didn’t reply to a request to be interviewed for this text — has defended Worth’s document as a legislator and denied that the council member dedicated any crimes. Ugarte recalled becoming a member of Worth when he had his fingerprints taken for the prison case.
“I used to be simply heartbroken,” Ugarte mentioned in November on the podcast “What’s Subsequent, Los Angeles?”
“They’re going to search out him not responsible and he’s going to be exonerated of every little thing,” Ugarte added.
Jose Ugarte is working for Los Angeles Metropolis Council District 9.
(Jose Ugarte)
The case might additionally complicate Worth’s legacy.
He has survived a tumultuous and scandal-ridden time in Metropolis Corridor, marked by colleagues getting marched out of workplace following federal prosecutions, a leaked racist recording and the continued success of younger and progressive challengers unseating politicians of his era. A conviction might see his identify perpetually related to friends taken down by allegations of graft.
The veteran politician, who served as a member of the Inglewood Metropolis Council and within the state Senate and Meeting, has referred to as himself a “progressive, constructive, inclusive” chief. He has supported increased wages for low-income staff within the metropolis and has shut ties to organized labor.
In an interview this week, Worth reiterated that he by no means meant to do something flawed and questioned the equity of a prosecution over what he mentioned was basically a paperwork error.
“These offenses are constructed across the intent to do flawed and I had no intent, no information of us doing something flawed on the time,” he mentioned.
It doesn’t matter what occurs in courtroom, Worth believes metropolis residents will bear in mind him for bringing jobs and reasonably priced housing to the district, slightly than the corruption expenses.
“I’ve acquired a complicated constituency. They actually know the work we’ve been doing round housing, round financial growth… I feel I’m going to be judged on how these applications have modified the ambiance and the temperature within the district,” he mentioned, referencing his work on inexperienced house initiatives, boosting wages and the development of BMO Stadium throughout his time in workplace.
Curren Worth speaks at a information convention on the L.A. Conference Middle enlargement together with native union members in Los Angeles in September 2025.
(Carlin Stiehl/Los Angeles Instances)
Worth, who grew up in South Los Angeles earlier than attending Stanford, faces 12 counts of violating state battle of curiosity legal guidelines by voting on metropolis issues through which he had a monetary curiosity, perjury and embezzlement.
Prosecutors allege Worth repeatedly voted on objects earlier than the Metropolis Council that benefited businesses and corporations that had beforehand accomplished enterprise along with his spouse, Del Richardson, and her consulting firm, Del Richardson & Associates.
Richardson’s firm acquired a whole bunch of hundreds of {dollars} in funds from LA Metro, town housing authority and land builders earlier than Worth voted to approve initiatives, grants and funding for these companies and businesses, prosecutors allege.
The perjury expenses stem from Worth’s alleged failure to reveal Richardson’s earnings on state kinds. Prosecutors say he dedicated embezzlement by claiming Richardson as a depending on his city-funded healthcare plan regardless of them not being legally married on the time. The insurance coverage flub value taxpayers roughly $30,000.
Worth’s legal professional, Michael Schafler, has maintained Worth had no information of the battle and the funds to Richardson had no impact on his votes. All the votes cited within the criticism handed by huge margins, which means Worth didn’t swing any council choices.
In courtroom this week, Schafler regularly tried to color his shopper’s alleged crimes as little greater than clerical errors.
Whereas cross-examining the highest legal professional for California’s Honest Political Practices Fee, Schafler pointed to disclosure kinds the place Worth declared he’d acquired earnings from a developer in the identical actual quantity he’s alleged to have didn’t disclose in one of many perjury counts.
The depend, Schafler argued, associated to earnings from a enterprise that the developer, Thomas Safran, owns.
Los Angeles County Dist. Atty. Nathan Hochman dismissed Schafler’s makes an attempt to downplay the costs in an interview earlier this week, noting Worth was made aware of the conflicts when The Instances printed a 2019 investigation into his document of voting on issues associated to Richardson.
“His brazen conduct, even after the L.A. Instances brings this to public gentle, is that he retains doing it. His explanations could be responsible his workers, responsible Del Richardson’s workers, responsible legal professionals, responsible principally everybody however himself,” he mentioned. “However when you will have these myriad prison violations, all roads result in only one one who is accountable.”
Witnesses within the preliminary listening to — which started on Tuesday and is predicted to finish subsequent week — included former members of Richardson’s firm and Worth’s Metropolis Corridor workers.
On Wednesday, longtime Richardson worker Maritsa Garcia and Deputy Dist. Atty. Casey Higgins sparred on the witness stand over what data the consulting agency supplied to the councilman’s workplace about doable conflicts. At one level, Higgins famous that Garcia had an legal professional within the room, paid for by Richardson, and steered her testimony could be “biased.” The legal professional, Michael Freedman, declined to talk with a Instances reporter.
Mike Bonin, a former metropolis councilman, mentioned he believed Worth’s alleged malfeasance needs to be dealt with by town’s Ethics Fee — not prison prosecutors. One of many votes at concern was a few mission in Bonin’s district that sailed by means of the council, with Worth’s vote unimportant to the mission’s final result.
“In contrast to each different homeless or reasonably priced housing mission in my district, this one had no objection. It went straight by means of. There was completely no controversy,” Bonin mentioned.
Bonin mentioned the prison case by no means “handed the scent check” to him, and that it didn’t appear as critical as crimes dedicated by different metropolis councilmembers like Mitch Englander and Jose Huizar.
Englander pled responsible in 2021 to obstructing a federal investigation into whether or not he improperly acquired items from builders whereas in workplace. Huizar pleaded responsible to conspiracy and tax evasion two years later, after federal prosecutors accused him of taking in thousands and thousands in bribes and perks in what they described as a pay-to-play scheme.
“I felt like for no matter purpose they needed to search out one thing towards Curren,” Bonin mentioned.
An worker from the L.A. Metropolis Ethics Fee — which accused Worth of a litany of violations in 2024 — testified this week that Worth would nonetheless have a battle of curiosity even in votes that handed by huge margins.
After former Dist. Atty. George Gascón quietly charged Worth in 2023, Hochman added two expenses towards Worth final 12 months and has pursued the case aggressively. His prosecutors have additionally tried to drive Richardson, who has attended courtroom on daily basis this week in assist of her husband, to testify towards him. Richardson was described as a “suspect” within the preliminary investigation in 2022, in keeping with paperwork made public final 12 months, however she was by no means charged with against the law and has denied all wrongdoing.
Laurie Levenson, a former federal prosecutor who now teaches on the Loyola Legislation College, mentioned Hochman ought to proceed pursuing circumstances involving political corruption, particularly given the latest historical past at Metropolis Corridor.
However with Worth’s profession winding down and the costs not indicating a significant monetary loss to taxpayers, she questioned if the case has misplaced worth over time.
“The significance of this case can very a lot change over time,” she mentioned. “He’s not in the identical political house as when [Gascón] first introduced the costs, and there might need been a number of incentive to do it then.”
Hochman confirmed makes an attempt had been made to resolve the case by means of a plea deal, however they weren’t profitable. He declined to elaborate on the potential phrases. Schafler additionally declined to element these conversations.
Worth has no intention of stepping down earlier than his time period.
The race to exchange Worth is prone to be one of many extra aggressive in June, with quite a few well-funded candidates. Estuardo Mazariegos is working to Ugarte’s left and has been endorsed by Controller Kenneth Mejia and the Democratic Socialists of America Los Angeles. Additionally working is Elmer Roldan, a nonprofit chief who works to maintain college students from dropping out of colleges within the Los Angeles Unified College District. Roldan was endorsed by Mayor Karen Bass on Thursday.
A devoted group of supporters has flanked Worth at practically each courtroom listening to. Prior to now, he’s held miniature rallies and prayer circles within the courthouse hallways.
Rose Rios, 80, who’s the top of a homeless outreach group in South L.A., mentioned she believes prosecutors are unfairly maligning Worth and expressed concern the costs will overshadow his legacy of “increase South-Central.”
Rios mentioned she’s going to by no means settle for a responsible verdict within the case, and neither will a lot of Worth’s constituents.
“I belief him. I belief him with my life. He’s cherished by means of all of the district,” she mentioned. “That many individuals wouldn’t love you should you weren’t doing the fitting factor.”
