Los Angeles City Councilman Richard Alarcon and his wife have been indicted on perjury, voter fraud and other crimes, the result of a 15-month investigation into allegations the councilman illegally claimed a Panorama City house as his residence, the District Attorney’s Office announced today.

The 24-count felony indictment was returned late Friday by the Grand Jury. It was unsealed this morning when Alarcon, 56, and his wife, Flora Montes De Oca Alarcon, surrendered and were arraigned before Superior Court Judge Peter Espinoza. The District Attorney’s office requested bail set at $45,000 for Alarcon and $20,000 for his wife.

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The Public Integrity Division launched an investigation after receiving a written complaint that the councilman was living at a residence outside his district, said Deputy District Attorney Jennifer Lentz Snyder, assistant head deputy of the Public Integrity Division.

Alarcon, who was first elected to the Los Angeles City Council’s 7th District in 1993, served as a State Senator from 1998 until 2006, when he termed out. Alarcon was elected to the state Assembly on Nov. 5, 2006. In that same election, voters approved Measure R, changing term limit conditions that allowed Alarcon to again run for the City Council.

On Dec. 11, 2006, Alarcon declared his intent to become a City Council candidate, claiming that he lived at 14451 Nordhoff St. in Panorama City, a residence owned by his wife. He also re-registered to vote, claiming the same address.

He was elected to the 7th District council seat in March 2007 and re-elected in March 2009.

In the summer of 2007, Alarcon tried unsuccessfully to have the 7th District’s boundaries redrawn to include his wife’s Sun Valley home.

The indictment charges him with two felony counts of filing a false declaration of candidacy on Dec. 6, 2006 and again on Nov. 6, 2008. The indictment charges him with seven counts of voter fraud, alleging he fraudulently voted in elections in 2007, 2008 and 2009. He’s also charged with nine counts of perjury, including three for allegedly filing false driver’s license applications.

Flora Montes de Oca Alarcon is charged with three counts of perjury for allegedly claiming that she lived at the Nordhoff address on a Provisional Voting Ballot, in registering to vote and on a driver’s license application. She also is charged with three counts of voter fraud.

Deputy District Attorneys Snyder and Gary Nielsen of PID presented the matter to the Grand Jury during the month of July. Thirty-one witnesses testified.