‘Humble’ city councilman accused of steering $950k in public cash to wife’s firm — and putting her health insurance on taxpayer dime

A long-standing Los Angeles councilman is the latest member of the scandal-prone City Council to face trial, accused of corruptly directing nearly $1 million in public funds to his wife’s consulting firm.

Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Shelly Torrealba has ordered Curren Price, 75, to stand trial on 12 felony public-corruption charges, including voting on matters in which he allegedly had conflicts of interest, embezzlement, and three counts of perjury.

Prosecutors allege Price repeatedly voted on city business involving his wife Delbra Pettice Richardson’s real estate consultancy, Del Richardson & Associates, Inc., which provides relocation assistance and community-outreach services for developers and public agencies.

Price represents South Los Angeles and is known around City Hall as quiet and humble, having spent his 12 elected years working in one of the city’s poorest communities.

He has touted motions steering city dollars into neighborhood infrastructure, affordable housing, and social programs aimed at improving quality of life.

But on Thursday, the judge ruled prosecutors had presented sufficient evidence to move the case forward, making Price the latest high-profile council member to face serious corruption charges.

Richardson’s firm allegedly received more than $950,000 between 2019 and 2021 from developers, the Housing Authority, and LA Metro while seeking work with the city.

Price supported a $30 million Metro funding motion, a $35 million federal grant, and a $252 million state grant application for the Housing Authority without disclosing the alleged conflicts, prosecutors say.

His own staff had not flagged those conflicts in advance, the court heard.

Price is also accused of embezzling roughly $33,800 in city funds by placing Richardson on his taxpayer-funded health-insurance plan between 2013 and 2017, while falsely claiming she was his spouse — despite being legally married to another woman at the time, prosecutors allege.

Prosecutors further allege Price steered city lease agreements and more than $2 million in federal COVID-19 grants to the non-profit Home at Last, which used the services of Urban Healthcare Project, where Price served as CEO.

The Post was inside the courtroom as Price’s deputy chief of staff, Marisa Alcaraz, testified she missed conflicts of interest.

She said staff reviewed agendas for ties to Richardson’s work and made “their best efforts” to alert Price.

Under questioning, prosecutors highlighted flaws in that process, including testimony that conflict information was shared via a flash drive delivered by Richardson’s firm, updated verbally rather than in writing, and discussed on personal phones instead of city devices.

Deputy District Attorney Casey Higgins argued the arrangement appeared designed to shield Price, accusing staff of creating “plausible deniability” and avoiding public-records scrutiny.

Price is far from the first council member ensnared in corruption cases.

In 2023, Mark Ridley-Thomas was sentenced to 42 months in federal prison in what was described by a judge as a ‘shakedown’; leveraging his political position to secure benefits for his son from a university dean in exchange for county business.

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In a separate case, José Luis Huizar was sentenced to 13 years in federal prison after pleading guilty in 2023 to racketeering and tax evasion spanning 15 years.

Meanwhile, Mitchell Englander was sentenced to 14 months in federal prison for obstructing a public-corruption investigation tied to gifts and $15,000 in cash he received during 2017 trips to Las Vegas and Palm Springs.

Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan J. Hochman said the decision to proceed represented ‘a significant step toward holding L.A. Councilmember Curren Price accountable for years of alleged corruption.’ 

Arraignment is scheduled for March 13 at the Foltz Criminal Justice Center.