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Guilty plea to conflict of interest in LAUSD building program
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Guilty plea to conflict of interest in LAUSD building program
It’ll be a quarter-million dollar fine and other penalties for a former Los Angeles Unified Schools official who's pleaded guilty to conflict of interest charges.
An LA Unified construction director, Bassam Raslan, worked for the district during a boom in new school building.
That construction program has completed close to 100 campuses since voters approved a bond measure 13 years ago. But the LA County grand jury charged Raslan with hiring people from his private business to work on the school projects.
Prosecutors said that Raslan tried to profit from recommending construction management personnel to LA Unified – without letting the school district know that some of those managers were his employees.
After the apparent conflict of interest surfaced, LA Unified fired Raslan’s business partner. Earlier this year, the district placed Raslan on unpaid leave. He has agreed to a $250,000 fine, five years of probation and 200 hours of community service.
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