Los Angeles City Councilmember John Lee has faced scrutiny over a controversial trip to Las Vegas in 2017, where he allegedly accepted gifts in violation of city ethics laws.
The trip involved his then-boss, Mitch Englander, who is currently embroiled in an FBI investigation for accepting an envelope of cash in a casino bathroom, a charge that led to Englander pleading guilty to lying to federal investigators.
Last week, during a court hearing associated with allegations from the L.A. Ethics Commission, Lee publicly discussed the trip for the first time, asserting he paid for his portions of the trip, including his stay at the Aria hotel-casino.
Lee specifically stated that he was given a standard room, not a suite, as part of the hotel comp.
He recounted his experiences at the lavish Hakkasan Nightclub, where he enjoyed whiskey while expensive bottles of booze were showcased, and the casino where he engaged in blackjack after losing $1,000 at baccarat.
Throughout his testimony, Lee, who at the time was Englander’s chief of staff, insisted he did not violate the city’s ethics rules regarding gift acceptance.
Under rigorous questioning from Marian Thompson, a city enforcement officer, Lee detailed an incident where he stuffed $300 into Andy Wang’s pocket to cover his nightclub expenses, claiming he also paid for his own drinks at dinner that night.
“I believe I made a good-faith effort to repay what I consumed that night,” Lee declared.
In 2023, the Ethics Commission accused Lee of accepting multiple gifts, including free hotel accommodations, meals, and poker chips from a developer and a businessman during the same Las Vegas trip.
Although neither individual was named in the complaint, the testimonies provided strong hints that Wang and another businessman, Christopher Pak, played significant roles.
Despite federal investigators not filing charges against Lee, the allegations have brought his actions into question, especially given he has denied any knowledge of wrongdoing by his former boss.
At the time of the trip, city officials could accept gifts ranging from $50 to $470 from a single source, as long as these were reported.
They were prohibited from receiving gifts exceeding $470 from any one individual.
The Ethics Commission has alleged that Lee breached both laws through his actions during the Las Vegas trip.
Lee’s attorneys have consistently argued against the commission’s case, suggesting that the statute of limitations had run out.
As witness testimony ended last week, Administrative Law Judge Ji-Lan Zang is expected to make a recommendation regarding any ethics violations committed by Lee.
A panel of ethics commissioners will subsequently deliberate on whether violations occurred and consider potential penalties.
Englander, who famously settled a similar Ethics Commission case for $79,830 in 2023, already has a conviction related to the matter.
During the hearing, Thompson sought to undermine Lee’s explanation of events.
Emphasizing that Lee claimed to have joined the group at Blossom, an expensive Chinese restaurant, but did not eat due to arriving late, she read aloud the bill that amounted to nearly $2,500—highlighting various luxurious dishes.
Lee acknowledged drinking at the restaurant, giving someone $100 he could not recall to cover his share of the tab.
When pressed about the expensive meals, Lee insisted he only tried the bird’s nest soup, describing it as “gelatinous.”
According to earlier charges against Englander, it was indicated that an unnamed “City Staffer B” received the same lavish treatment as Englander during the trip, widely thought to refer to Lee.
With calls for Lee’s resignation ringing out, he managed to secure reelection in 2024 amid ongoing inquiries into his conduct during the Las Vegas trip.
Englander was sentenced to 14 months in federal prison, admitting in his plea agreement to misleading the authorities and accepting a total of $15,000 in cash from an unnamed businessman during his time in Las Vegas and at the Morongo Casino Resort & Spa.
Wang, the businessman, sought to build relationships with developers and other stakeholders to expand his cabinet and home technology businesses.
During his testimony, Lee maintained he adhered to city ethics laws throughout the trip.
He testified that he urged Englander to return poker chips gifted by Wang as soon as Englander showed them to him.
“I told him immediately that he needed to give those chips back to Andy,” Lee testified.
He also alleged that he handed Englander a blank check, believing it was for the purpose of reimbursing Wang for the amenities they had received at the Aria.
However, in a declaration for the ethics case, Englander stated that neither he nor Lee repaid Wang for any of the dining or accommodation benefits, stating, “While in Las Vegas, NV, Lee did not give me a check to reimburse Wang.”
Responding to Thompson’s questioning about Englander’s claims, Lee retorted, “He’s lied before.”
The evidence shows that both Lee and Englander made separate checks to Wang on September 14 of that year for $442, while the Ethics Commission claims these were backdated to August 4 to coincide with the FBI’s inquiry.
Lee refuted this assertion, claiming he provided his check to Englander on August 4 after Englander had lost the previous check.
At the nightclub, Wang and Pak collectively shelled out over $34,000 for bottle service, with estimates suggesting that Lee’s share of the drinks totaled approximately $5,666.67.
Lee’s attorney disputed this figure, stating that an array of guests frequented their VIP area that evening.
According to Lee, he consumed only two to four drinks, indicating a high volume of attendees at their table.
When questioned about his gambling experience, Lee acknowledged accepting $1,000 in poker chips from Wang, indicating his misunderstanding of the rules of baccarat, and noted that he intended to relinquish any winnings to Wang.
Lee mentioned withdrawing $1,500 from ATMs in Las Vegas, using bank transactions to prove he wanted to ensure he had sufficient personal funds during the trip.
“I wanted to make sure that I had my own money and paid for everything that I was a part of,” he testified.
With Thompson seeking to paint a picture of a lavish night filled with excess, Lee described the perks he received as “treatment I’d never received before,” painting a contrast to his everyday experiences.
image source from：https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2025-06-12/councilmember-lee-takes-the-stand-in-his-ethics-case-accuses-englander-of-lying
