Prosecutor Guilty of Soliciting Sexual Bribe

A10-year veteran prosecutor for the Los Angeles city attorney’s office was convicted Monday of offering to help an 18-year-old woman accused of forgery obtain a lighter sentence in exchange for sexual favors.

George Schwartz, 42, of West Hills was convicted in Los Angeles Superior Court of one count of soliciting a bribe, a felony that carries a maximum sentence of four years in state prison, said Deputy Dist. Atty. Herbert Lapin.

Lapin said that Schwartz, who worked at the Van Nuys Courthouse for 10 years prior to his arrest on Aug. 25, 1988, offered to recommend that the woman receive a lighter sentence for passing a forged check if she would plead guilty and have sex with him.

Schwartz called the woman at her house and offered to “help her with her case,” Lapin said. The woman became suspicious and called her own attorney, who contacted the Los Angeles Police Department. Police gave the woman a concealed recording device, and she met Schwartz at a Woodland Hills shopping center twice in August, 1988.

The offer to arrange a lighter sentence in exchange for sex was made during these meetings, Lapin said.