Aide to former L.A. Councilmember Jose Huizar gets probation

He kept thousands of text messages. He took photos of bribe money. He recorded his boss, then-Los Angeles City Councilmember Jose Huizar, demanding that money in a City Hall bathroom.

George Esparza, a central figure in Huizar’s sprawling pay-to-play operation, provided federal prosecutors with a huge trove of evidence for their investigation into bribes from downtown real estate developers…