Ex-City Official Guilty of Bribery
A former Los Angeles city Building and Safety Department employee was convicted Thursday of soliciting a $10,000 bribe from a Century City attorney to expedite a building permit he was seeking, authorities said.
John A. Kaldawi, 33, of Van Nuys, was found guilty after a non-jury trial in Los Angeles Superior Court and faces a maximum of three years in prison when he is sentenced May 10, Deputy Dist. Atty. Richard Goul said.
The charges stem from an undercover police surveillance of Kaldawi on July 29, 1993, when he met with the attorney at a restaurant across the street from City Hall to accept the bribe and was arrested.
“We wired the attorney and sent him (to the meeting),” Goul said. “We had the whole transaction recorded.”
In addition to the prison time Kaldawi faces, he is also banned from public employment and holding public office for life, Goul said.
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