Snyder’s Jail Term Temporarily Stayed

Imposition of a six-month jail term for former Los Angeles City Councilman Arthur K. Snyder was temporarily stayed Thursday, a day before he was scheduled to start serving his sentence in County Jail.

The stay order was handed down by the 2nd District Court of Appeal after Snyder’s lawyer, Mark J. Geragos, submitted a writ requesting a delay pending appeal of the sentence.

After hearing the response from the district attorney’s office, the court will decide whether to order Snyder to jail or grant Geragos’ request to extend the stay until the appeal process is completed, the defense attorney said. Prosecutors could not be reached for comment late Thursday.

Snyder, one of City Hall’s most influential insiders and fund-raisers for three decades, pleaded guilty in September to misdemeanor conspiracy and money laundering charges. The negotiated settlement fell short of the more serious felony conviction that prosecutors had sought.

Snyder was accused of illicitly funneling hundreds of thousands of dollars in contributions to candidates through a network of associates and his downtown law firm.

Two months ago, Superior Court Judge John Ouderkirk sentenced Snyder to the six-month jail term, placing him on three years’ probation, prohibiting him from lobbying or running for public office for four years and ordering him to pay $216,000 in fines and penalties.

Ouderkirk ordered Snyder to begin serving his sentence Friday. When Geragos asked that the 63-year-old defendant, who suffers from a heart condition, be allowed to serve the sentence at home, the judge replied: “My intention is to give the defendant six months in jail.”

Snyder, who represented the Eastside on the City Council for 18 years before becoming a successful lobbyist, told the judge he agreed with the terms of his probation. But later, outside the courtroom, he made it clear that the battle was far from over.

Announcing that he already had filed an appeal, Snyder said: “I don’t expect to ever go to jail.”