Latest news with #L.A.Times
Yahoo
3 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Tom Girardi – disgraced legal titan, former 'Real Housewives' husband – sentenced to 7 years in prison
A judge sentenced disgraced legal titan Tom Girardi, once among the nation's most formidable trial attorneys, to seven years in prison Tuesday for stealing millions of dollars from clients. U.S. District Court Judge Josephine Staton said in handing down the sentence that Girardi had used the settlements of catastrophically injured clients to underwrite a lifestyle of 'private jets and country clubs' for himself and his wife, 'Real Housewives of Beverly Hills' star Erika Jayne. 'Mr. Girardi further victimized these people and did so at the lowest point in their lives,' Staton said. Girardi, who turned 86 on Tuesday, was convicted of four counts of wire fraud last year. He was diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease five years ago, though the level of his impairment is disputed. He stared blankly at the judge as she spoke. Given a chance to address the court, Girardi spoke in a soft, muffled voice, blaming poor accounting and insisting he had not profited personally. 'I think it's clear there was some negligence involved, but everybody got everything they were supposed to get. That's the important thing,' he said. Assistant U.S. Atty. Scott Paetty said the statement was just the most recent in a string of falsehoods from Girardi. 'We are here today because of Tom Girardi's lies,' he said, calling Girardi's handling of client money at the now defunct Girardi Keese law firm a 'textbook Ponzi scheme.' Staton rejected a proposal from Girardi's attorneys that he be allowed to serve any sentence in the locked Alzheimer's care unit at the Seal Beach nursing home where he has lived for several years. 'If he's in prison, he will not understand why,' defense attorney Samuel Cross told the judge, describing Girardi's memory as 'frozen in amber 30 years ago' when he was at the height of his career. Staton said she was not moved by what she called his 'cognitive decline,' saying his advanced age and various maladies actually made his imprisonment less harsh than it might have been when he was at the height of his power. 'This is not a greater punishment because he is old. It is lesser because he gives up less,' the judge said. Girardi is to surrender to prison authorities by July 17. Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
Los Angeles Times
6 hours ago
- Business
- Los Angeles Times
Celebrity haunt that made ‘Chinese chicken salad a household name' to close this summer
One of L.A.'s most iconic Chinese American restaurants will close next month, ending nearly a half-century of Chinese chicken salads, dumplings and pan-fried noodles in West Hollywood's Sunset Plaza. The first location of Chin Chin — a decades-long celebrity haunt — will close on the Sunset Strip on July 27. Other locations will remain open. The West Hollywood originator helped proliferate Chinese American cuisine in Los Angeles since it debuted in 1983, when founder Bob Mandler introduced many Angelenos to dim sum and Cantonese specialties. A representative for the restaurant told the L.A. Times that while nearing the end of negotiations for that location's five-year lease, the building's landlord chose not to continue the arrangement. Chin Chin's owners hope to reopen elsewhere. 'At the last minute I think the landlord had a change in vision for the place, and as much as we wanted to be part of that, Chin Chin just wasn't part of their vision,' said David Choi, a partner in the restaurant. 'It was just a very sudden change, and so we were kind of left scrambling.' When reached by phone, a representative for Sunset Plaza said, 'Absolutely no comment.' It's the latest in a stretch of West Hollywood restaurants to close this year. The Den on Sunset, Rock & Reilly's and Le Petit Four — the latter of which also resided in Sunset Plaza — all shuttered in 2025. Choi said that First to Market Hospitality, which has operated Chin Chin for roughly a decade, is grateful for its years in Sunset Plaza. The local chain's remaining locations — in Studio City, Brentwood and Las Vegas — remain in operation. Through the years the casual-dining restaurant chain amassed a legion of notable fans, including Britney Spears, the Kardashians and Sean Hayes. The fandom is so fierce, Choi said, that when the restaurants temporarily switched ginger purveyors due to a supply shortage two years ago, customers instantly noticed a change in the signature Chinese chicken salad and cried out. Sweet-crunchy, crispy-wonton-laced Chinese chicken salad was most likely created by Madame Sylvia Wu at her Santa Monica restaurant Madame Wu's Garden, but a large share of the dish's popularity across L.A. in the 1980s and '90s can be credited to Chin Chin. 'Owner and founder Bob Mandler is the man responsible for making Chinese chicken salad a household name in Los Angeles County, the man who elevated the fine art of Chinese grazing to undreamed-of plateaus,' former L.A. Times restaurant critic Max Jacobson wrote in 1992. During the pandemic First to Market Hospitality tapped new culinary talent, including Rockey Dominguez and Maketto chef-owner Erik Bruner-Yang, who helped introduce new dishes and retool some of its older recipes — but some, including the most iconic, remain the same. The hospitality group plans to relocate some of West Hollywood's staff to its other restaurants, and launched a GoFundMe campaign for those who will need financial help after July's closure. But the Brentwood location has seen impacted sales due to the recent Palisades fire, Choi said, while Studio City's Chin Chin has suffered from the entertainment-industry strikes and continued production downturn. A sizable amount of Chin Chin's business comes from delivery orders, Choi said, but third-party apps take commissions of 20% to 30%; ordering directly from the restaurant, he said, would help their survival. Given the restaurant industry's financial precarity, Choi said the prospect of investing capital into a new Chin Chin outpost might not be prudent unless his team can find 'a sweetheart deal or a great location.' At the Sunset Plaza location, many guests are already trickling in to pay their respects since the closure announcement posted to Instagram on Friday. 'We've been around for 45 years and that's been incredible, and we couldn't have done it without our customers,' Choi said. 'It's been a very pleasant surprise that we've had so many people that felt so strongly and had so many memories with us.' Chin Chin is located in Sunset Plaza at 8618 W. Sunset Blvd. in West Hollywood, and is open daily from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m.
Los Angeles Times
7 hours ago
- General
- Los Angeles Times
LA Times Today: Transgender track athlete wins gold in California state championships despite Trump threat
High school track athlete AB Hernandez won gold at the CIF State Track and Field Championships over the weekend. While temperatures topped 100 degrees on the field, President Donald Trump was turning up the heat on social media and in the courts, blasting California's decision to allow AB to compete because she's transgender. L.A. Times education reporter Howard Blume joined Lisa McRee with the story.
Los Angeles Times
7 hours ago
- General
- Los Angeles Times
LA Times Today: California Democrats try to figure out how to win national elections again
Minnesota governor and former vice presidential candidate Tim Walz served a wakeup call at the Democratic Convention in Anaheim this weekend. Walz spoke to a crowd of thousands arguing that a lack of leadership and divisions within the party have weakened the fight against many are asking what's next for the future of the Democratic Party. L.A. Times reporter Laura Nelson joined Lisa McRee to discuss what we need to know.
Yahoo
8 hours ago
- General
- Yahoo
Photo Essay: A transgender high school athlete navigates a fight she never asked for
On the morning the Trump administration threw its weight behind a local lawsuit challenging California rules that allowed her to compete on her high school track and field team, Abi had more pressing concerns. The 17-year-old transgender athlete was graduating that evening from Martin Luther King High School in Riverside. Her competing in girls' hurdles had kicked up protests, and she was nervously planning one last act of high school rebellion. "The [school administration] was not allowing students to bring anything except their phones, and they were searching us before," she said, referring to the graduation ceremony. "So I had to smuggle contraband into a high-profile event with the risk of losing my diploma that I worked so hard to get this year." Hours later, Abi whipped out a small transgender flag. As she walked across the graduation stage in her cap and gown, she waved it above her head despite being terrified that doing so would land her in trouble. "I have always loved running, I've been doing it as long as I can remember." She also knew from months of fighting for her right to compete that many people in the crowd disagreed with her on transgender rights, and some were outwardly hostile. But she didn't flinch. It was a milestone moment for a transgender teen who dealt with — and survived — a modern American political gantlet because she "didn't have much of a choice." "No one asked me if I had the mental strength or not before they sued California over me or before they sent hundreds of students to protest against me all day," Abi said. "I just figured everything out on the go.' Since writing about and photographing Abi for a February story, The Times has followed her closely to capture what life is like for a teenager caught in the middle of that debate. In February, she asked to remain anonymous given the threats to transgender athletes. But now, along with her mother, Abi agreed to have the resulting photographs, and her name, published here. Even though just days have passed since another transgender athlete — AB Hernandez — drew protests at California's high school track and field championships. Abi did not qualify to compete. Transgender activism "was never something I was planning on doing," Abi said, "but I'm a fighter." "My experience on the track team was actually pretty good. I was friends with all the girls on my team." "No one asked me if I had the mental strength or not before they sued California over me or before they sent hundreds of students to protest against me all day, I just figured everything out on the go.' Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
