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    Back to Press Play with Madeleine Brand

    Press Play with Madeleine Brand

    Garcetti’s former deputy solicited donations from big real estate developers, emails show

    Mayor Eric Garcetti's’ former deputy mayor, Raymond Chan, solicited donations from Chinese developers who wanted to build downtown. Now there are questions about whether that was pay-to-play. Chan no longer works for the city.

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    By Madeleine Brand • Jan 31, 2019 • 1 min read

    Mayor Eric Garcetti's’ former deputy mayor, Raymond Chan, solicited donations from Chinese developers who wanted to build downtown. Now there are questions about whether that was pay-to-play. Chan no longer works for the city. But he and about two dozen people are being investigated by the FBI for alleged bribery, extortion, money laundering, and kickbacks. A couple of years ago, he was one of two men overseeing the mayor’s economic development plans. Emails from that time show Chan asking for donations to a charitable organization from companies waiting for city approval for their projects.

    The full episode

    2 of 5
    A pay-to-play scandal at LA City Hall?
    1. 0:00Federal Judge overseeing PG&E blasts the utility for recent wildfires
    2. 7:02Garcetti’s former deputy solicited donations from big real estate developers, emails showYou’re reading this
    3. 15:16Trump administration guts Obama’s school lunch program
    4. 28:09In ‘Arctic,’ two lonely people survive a brutal world
    5. 41:26The unpaid contributors behind Buzzfeed’s viral quizzes
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      Madeleine Brand

      Host, 'Press Play'

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      Sarah Sweeney

      Vice President of Talk Programming, KCRW

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      Michell Eloy

      Former Producer/Line Editor, Press Play

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      Amy Ta

      Digital News & Culture Editor

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      David Zahniser

      LA Times reporter covering City Hall

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    The full episode

    2 of 5
    A pay-to-play scandal at LA City Hall?
    1. 0:00Federal Judge overseeing PG&E blasts the utility for recent wildfires
    2. 7:02Garcetti’s former deputy solicited donations from big real estate developers, emails showYou’re reading this
    3. 15:16Trump administration guts Obama’s school lunch program
    4. 28:09In ‘Arctic,’ two lonely people survive a brutal world
    5. 41:26The unpaid contributors behind Buzzfeed’s viral quizzes
    Back to Press Play with Madeleine Brand