Did you know Merlone Geier’s business partner admitted to funneling political contributions to a corrupt official?

Merlone Geier’s business partner, Carmel Partners, admitted to funneling $75,000 for the benefit of corrupt LA city councilmember Jose Huizar, who was sentenced to 13 years in prison for a long running pay to play bribery scheme from developers.

Carmel Partners funneled the money at the same time it was seeking approval for a development project in the downtown Los Angeles area known as the Mateo Project and trying to reduce the project’s required amount of affordable housing. In 2018, just 4 months after the last payment, the project was approved with the reduced amount of “Very Low Income” housing. Following a Department of Justice criminal probe, Carmel Partners agreed to pay $1.2 million as a part of a non-prosecution agreement. The agreement also included admitting and accepting responsibility for its actions and fully cooperating with the FBI investigation.

Between 2011 and 2019, Merlon Geier and Carmel Partners partnered on a joint venture to develop a mixed-use project in Mountain View, CA, known as the Village at San Antonio Center. Merlone Geier was not a partner of the Mateo Project.