Arraignment On Conspiracy, Perjury Charges Postponed For Palmdale Mayor

LOS ANGELES (CBSLA.com) — Arraignment was postponed Wednesday for Palmdale Mayor Jim Ledford, faces charges of conspiracy, conflict of interest, and perjury.

Ledford, who has been mayor of Palmdale for 25 years and was last November elected to his 13th two-year term, was charged in June with one count each of conspiracy to commit a crime, conflict of interest and three counts of perjury by declaration.

Also charged along with Ledford are Kimberly Anne Shaw, 61, of Yorba Linda, and Susan Burgess Miller, 68, of Las Vegas, who are facing one count each of conspiracy, embezzlement and misappropriation of public funds.

Shaw has been a consultant for the city of Palmdale for the past two decades, and with Miller's assistance operates the AERO Institute, which receives more than $2 million annually from NASA and has paid a $1 annual lease to Palmdale since 2004, according to the District Attorney's Office.

According to a criminal complaint, Shaw and Miller used shell companies to pay Ledford thousands of dollars a month, income that he also failed to disclose when he voted in favor of a seven-year contract between the city of Palmdale and Shaw.

Ledford's arraignment was rescheduled for Oct. 19.

The Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office received a resident's letter of complaint in July 2013, according to the criminal complaint.

If convicted as charged, Ledford could face up to four years and eight months in state prison and Shaw and Miller could each face up to four years behind bars, according to the District Attorney's Office.

(© Copyright 2017 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. City News Service contributed to this report.)