Nearly 600 CA officials have been convicted on federal corruption charges over past 10 years: report

Justice Department reports show that 576 public officials in California have been convicted on federal corruption charges over the last 10 years. 

According to an exclusive report from The New York Times, a real estate boom was behind driving the corruption specifically in the city of Los Angeles. 

The Times report cited Jose Huizar as an example. Huizar, a graduate of Berkeley, Princeton and UCLA law school was on the school board and City Council. He was eventually arrested after FBI agents found out he received about $1.8 million worth of casino chips and other favors from Chinese developers which were used to influence how he made decisions on multi-million dollar commercial development projects. 

He was convicted of racketeering and tax evasion and is heading to prison this week after being sentenced to 13 years. 

The report's investigation listed different reasons as to why political corruption was so widespread, particularly in the state of California. 

The Times report cites as part of the explanation "A heavy concentration of power at Los Angeles City Hall, the receding presence of local news media, a population that often tunes out local politics and a growing Democratic supermajority in state government," all of which have contributed to this recent level of corruption.