The term-limited councilman has pleaded not guilty and faces up to 11 years and four months if convicted
Los Angeles City Councilmember Curren Price was again ordered Friday to stand trial in downtown Los Angeles after Superior Court Judge Larry Paul Fidler rejected his bid to dismiss 12 felony corruption charges, agreeing with District Attorney Nathan Hochman’s office that prosecutors had presented ample evidence for probable cause.
“Price’s latest motion to dismiss rehashes the same meritless arguments he has made for years to avoid accountability,” Hochman said.
Price, 75, has pleaded not guilty to five felony counts of embezzlement of government funds, four counts of conflict of interest and three counts of perjury. He faces up to 11 years and four months in custody if convicted. Fidler’s ruling affirmed Judge Shelly Torrealba’s January decision following a six-day preliminary hearing.
Price’s attorneys, Michael V. Schafler and Alyssa D. Bell, argued in their latest filing that prosecutors had not established criminal intent. Price made the same point during a January interview while the preliminary hearing was underway.
“These offenses are built around the intent to do wrong and I had no intent, no knowledge of us doing anything wrong at the time,” Price said.
The original criminal complaint alleged Price embezzled approximately $33,800 by providing city health benefits to Delbra Pettice Richardson while legally married to another woman. Additional charges filed in 2025 alleged Richardson’s company received more than $950,000 from developers, the city housing authority and LA Metro before Price supported matters involving those entities, including a $30 million Metro award and housing grant applications worth $287 million.
During the preliminary hearing, Deputy District Attorney Casey Higgins said the repeated conduct supported prosecutors’ allegation of a pattern.
“Either Curren Price is completely oblivious to what he does in his position, or it’s a pattern,” Higgins said.
Price has represented Council District 9 since 2013 and is termed out in December. He must return to the Foltz Criminal Justice Center on Oct. 16 for a pretrial hearing and trial setting. The charges remain allegations, and Price is presumed innocent.
