On Monday, Ex-Rosemead Mayor John Tran was sentenced to 21 months in prison for witness tampering. The tampering occurred to resolve a bribery and extortion case involving a real estate developer.
Tran could have been sentenced to up to 25 years for his role in the bribery case, but agreed to plead guilty to two felonies, which instead required him to spend 21 months in prison. If he had not accepted the deal, he would have also had to pay $38,000 in restitution—the amount prosecutors said he took in bribes. The two felonies he pleaded guilty to were attempted witness tampering and making a false statement to an agent of the FBI.
The incident of witness tampering occurred in 2011 when Tran met the witness at a South Pasadena Starbucks. According to prosecutors, he told her to not reveal that they had met and that she had previously given him money.
The case revolves around alleged bribes being taken from the developer of a mixed-use project in Rosemead while Tran was still in office on the Rosemead City Council. Prosecutors say an informant gave Tran payments totaling $38,000 in order to help her secure permits for a building project. The project, however, was never approved by the city, and Tran was not re-elected in 2009. The case also lead to Tran ending his bid for the 49th state Assembly district.
Read more about Tran’s sentence here.