A month later, Cooley released his report on Belmont, which said prosecutors had left "no stone unturned" in their search for wrongdoing.
At the time, the D.A. lamented the lack of indictments.
"Would I have liked to haul someone in by the collar? Absolutely, yes," he told reporters. "We had to go where the facts led us."
For The Record
Los Angeles Times Saturday November 01, 2003 Home Edition Main News Part A Page 2 National Desk 2 inches; 79 words Type of Material: Correction
Robbery case -- An article in Section A on Oct. 23 about shortcomings in a corruption investigation by the Los Angeles County district attorney's office inaccurately described an unrelated robbery case. The article reported that a deputy district attorney in the corruption probe was reassigned to prosecute a vagrant on 20 counts of robbery. In fact, the case involved two defendants charged with 33 counts of armed robbery, attempted robbery, assault with a gun and false imprisonment by violence.
Two months later, the school board voted to spend an additional $111 million to revive the Belmont project.
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(Begin Text of Infobox)
Who's involved in the case
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Below are the key characters in a secret chapter of the district attorney's Belmont investigation:
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The Lobbyist-Businessman
Art M. Gastelum, above: An accomplished political fund-raiser, he was the subject of an incomplete investigation by the district attorney's office.
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The Prosecutor
Matt Dalton: The deputy district attorney quit in frustration because he believed that his superiors
hadn't pursued significant leads about Gastelum.
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The Informant
Clark Davis: The lobbyist worked with the D.A.'s office and says a commissioner pressured him to give Gastelum's daughter the right to run a store at LAX.
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The Commissioner
Leland Wong: A mayoral appointee and close friend of Gastelum who suggested that the businessman's daughter be a candidate to run a store at LAX.
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The Water Board President
Jaime Bonilla: The San Diego-area businessman who worked with the FBI and secretly recorded Gastelum discussing how to arrange a $1-million payoff.
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Source: Los Angeles Times
Los Angeles Times
