Ethics panel, bar probe Delgadillo
Investigators from the Los Angeles Ethics Commission and the State Bar of California have launched separate inquiries related to City Atty. Rocky Delgadillo's use of city resources for personal reasons, authorities and sources said Thursday.
The inquiries come amid growing criticism from community and city leaders about Delgadillo's conduct. In recent days, the city's top prosecutor has acknowledged letting his wife drive his city-owned vehicle without a license and enlisting staff members to run personal errands and baby-sit his children.
"There are certainly concerns about the misuse of public property for private benefit," said Kathay Feng, executive director of California Common Cause. "Particularly because we are talking about a position that must maintain a high level of public integrity
Nick Velasquez, a spokesman for Delgadillo, said "the city attorney is fully prepared to cooperate with any investigation."
Because such investigations are confidential, authorities from the state bar and Ethics Commission declined to confirm them.
The state bar, however, confirmed its inquiry earlier this week in a letter to a Whittier attorney who lodged a complaint about Delgadillo's alleged unethical conduct after reading articles in The Times.
"I believe in ethics," said attorney Allen P. Wilkinson, who made the complaint. "Attorneys already have a bad reputation among the public as being dishonest and I don't think that type of conduct should be tolerated in the legal profession."
Meanwhile, on Thursday, two Ethics Commission investigators met for 20 minutes with the general manager and assistant general manager of the General Services Department, which is in charge of the city's fleet of vehicles, and asked for information on the agency's policies and procedures for providing city-owned automobiles to officials and various employees.
"They were looking for general information on what the rules are, and how people can arrange to use a vehicle," said one city official familiar with the afternoon meeting.
City Councilman Dennis P. Zine said he supported an investigation. "The Ethics Commission has a responsibility when allegations like these are brought forward to investigate," Zine said. "They should investigate this. It's very embarrassing for an elected official who is a prosecutor, who enforces laws, to be involved in something like this that defies common sense."
