Ex-LAUSD official convicted

A former Los Angeles Unified facilities executive pleaded guilty Thursday to conflict of interest for hiring people from his own company to work on the school district's $20 billion construction program. Connie Llanos in the Daily News.

Bassam Raslan, 53, was sentenced to five years' probation and ordered to complete 200 hours of community service and pay $250,000 in restitution to the district. In exchange, prosecutors dropped eight more conflict-of-interest charges.

Raslan was indicted March 30 on charges that he and two others created a corporation, TBI & Associates, to profit from the hiring of construction management personnel. He also was accused of recommending that the district hire his own employees without notifying his supervisors of the conflict between February 2004 and February 2007.