NationofChange Former LA City Councilman sentenced to prison for obstructing corruption probe U.S. District Judge John F. Walter sentenced Englander to 14 months in federal prison. The former city councilman was also ordered to pay a $15,000 fine. After pleading guilty to obstructing a public corruption investigation, former Los Angeles City Councilman Mitchell Englander was sentenced Monday to 14 months in federal prison. A total of nine individuals and two businesses have now been charged as a result of this federal investigation, including former Los Angeles City Councilman Jose Huizar. Representing Los Angeles Council District 12 in the San Fernando Valley from July 2011 until he abruptly resigned on December 31, 2018, with almost two years left on his term, Englander served as the Council President Pro-Tempore and was on the Planning and Land Use Management (PLUM) Committee, which oversees many of the most significant commercial and residential development projects in the City of Los Angeles. According to his plea agreement, Englander was soliciting bribes from a local businessman in exchange for political favors.