In addition to the one-day management meetings, the sheriff's department held its recent medal of valor awards ceremony for deputies at the casino hotel. Parties for retiring deputies also are often held there.
The Commerce Casino, which opened in 1983, has a history of political corruption. In 1985, four City of Commerce officials and the casino's former president were convicted of corruption charges related to the awarding of secret shares of the casino to city officials who approved it.
Critics say the department could easily find a suitable meeting place without a casino or corruption history.
"I think it shows some poor judgment to have it there," said Greg Emerson, general counsel to the Los Angeles Sheriff's Professional Assn., a deputies union. "I've heard deputies talk about it. They think it has something to do with campaign contributions. Whatever the reason, it appears bad."
Several ranking officials who attend the meetings said they wished they were held elsewhere. They spoke on the condition that their names not be published, citing fear of retaliation.
"I dislike it because I know a substantial portion of the general public wonders whether any aspect of the gambling business is upright. It's all appearance," said one sheriff's official.
Baca said he believed the casino was a clean operation, and he praised it for making donations to community charities.
"I don't see anything wrong with attending a meeting in a banquet room of a hotel attached to a casino," Baca said.
"I find it incredulous a law enforcement officer would feel somehow uncomfortable in a secure establishment, licensed by the state of California.
"If they're afraid of going to a banquet room attached to a casino," Baca said, "then they might feel uncomfortable dealing with homeless people on the streets or arresting prostitutes. They're probably in the wrong business."
Andy Schneiderman, vice president of the Commerce Casino, said the Sheriff's Department is one of many business and government groups, including State Farm Insurance and Mary Kay cosmetics, that use banquet facilities at the casino-owned hotel, a Crowne Plaza franchise.
"We have the largest banquet facility between Anaheim and downtown in an area that's underserved," Schneiderman said.
Some sheriff's officials said they didn't have a problem meeting at the Commerce Casino's hotel, which is convenient for sheriff's staffers driving from as far away as Walnut and Lancaster. They said most of them avoid the gambling area by parking in a rear lot and taking an elevator to the second floor.
