Improper Conduct

The NCAA announced Wednesday that it has uncovered improper conduct by its own investigators working on the University of Miami case. Former staff members worked with the criminal defense attorney for Nevin Shapiro to improperly obtain information through a bankruptcy proceeding, the NCAA said. Shapiro is a former University of Miami booster who is serving a 20-year prison sentence for orchestrating a $930-million Ponzi scheme. "I have been vocal in the past regarding the need for integrity by NCAA member schools, athletics administrators, coaches and student athletes," NCAA President Mark Emmert said in a statement.

An Orange County Superior Court judge is being investigated by the Sheriff's Department on suspicion of  improper sexual conduct -- allegedly in his courtroom chambers - authorities said. Deputies are completing a month-long investigation into Scott Steiner, a former high-ranking prosecutor and the son of former Orange County Supervisor William Steiner, said Jim Amormino, a spokesman with the sheriff's department.  Amormino said that Steiner's chambers were searched, and potential evidence was gathered and will be tested for DNA. The investigation is expected to be completed next week, and deputies will send a report to the state attorney general, Amormino said.

"Improper Conduct" is a nifty modest-budget psychological thriller pegged to the timely issue of sexual harassment. It is the 15th film by the enterprising Dr. Jag Mundhra who once operated Culver City's venerable, long-gone Meralta Theater as a much-missed showcase for Indian cinema. "Improper Conduct" is the first of Mundhra's films to be released theatrically, his previous efforts having been contracted to go straight to video.

The NCAA announced Wednesday that it has uncovered improper conduct by its own investigators working on the University of Miami case. Former staff members worked with the criminal defense attorney for Nevin Shapiro to improperly obtain information through a bankruptcy proceeding, the NCAA said. Shapiro is a former University of Miami booster who is serving a 20-year prison sentence for orchestrating a $930-million Ponzi scheme. "I have been vocal in the past regarding the need for integrity by NCAA member schools, athletics administrators, coaches and student athletes," NCAA President Mark Emmert said in a statement.

Three male sailors have been disciplined after an investigation into allegations by female sailors that they were sexually harassed by male instructors at the Naval Training Center in San Diego, the Navy announced Monday. Capt. John Ensch, commander of the training center, said the investigation found "no evidence of sexual favors for course grades" but did find improper conduct between the ranks and between the sexes.

Former state Senate leader Don Perata has requested a probe of whether FBI agents and federal prosecutors in Sacramento are acting improperly in trying to revive a corruption investigation that was dropped by another U.S. attorney's office, his lawyer said Wednesday. In a letter to the inspector general for the U.S. Justice Department, George O'Connell, an attorney for Perata, accused Acting U.S. Atty. Lawrence G.

After enduring weeks of blistering criticism, Los Angeles City Councilman Rudy Svorinich Jr. has demanded that a former staff member retract allegations that the lawmaker engaged in improper conduct, including the acceptance of unreported campaign contributions. The demand came in a letter sent to John Barbieri,one of six former Svorinich aides to leave the councilman's office three months ago.

washington -- The Senate Select Committee on Ethics harshly criticized Sen. Larry E. Craig (R-Idaho) on Wednesday for his actions during and after his arrest last summer in a men's restroom at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport. In a strongly worded "public letter of admonition," the panel of three Democrats and three Republicans told Craig that his behavior constituted "improper conduct reflecting discreditably on the Senate."

Embattled senators Dave Durenberger (R-Minn.) and Dennis DeConcini (D-Ariz.), whose reelection chances have been clouded by allegations of improper conduct, announced Thursday that they will retire rather than face voters in 1994.

The California Commission on Judicial Performance on Monday publicly admonished a Superior Court judge in Glendale, who owned $45,000 worth of stock in the Walt Disney Co., for not disqualifying himself from four cases in which he ruled in Disney's favor. Judge Charles W. Stoll was also admonished for using court stationery to write two letters to a collection agency on behalf of a family member.

An Orange County Superior Court judge has been rebuked by a state oversight committee for violating judicial ethics in trying to help his wife avoid paying late fees levied on an unpaid traffic citation. In a decision released Thursday, the Commission on Judicial Performance issued a public censure of Judge Salvador Sarmiento for "improper conduct in seeking preferential treatment" for his wife. The commission said Sarmiento bypassed typical procedures by asking a subordinate — a court commissioner — to schedule a trial date for his wife after she received a November 2010 citation for failing to yield to a pedestrian in a crosswalk and ignored multiple notices from the court to deal with the ticket.

WASHINGTON - The Senate Ethics Committee publicly admonished Sen. Tom Coburn (R-Okla.) for improperly meeting with a lobbyist and former aide to Sen. John Ensign, the Nevada Republican who resigned from the Senate after having an affair with the aide's wife. The qualified reprimand for violating the ban on meeting with former staff-turned-lobbyists falls short of a censure or criminal violation. But the committee said it was "improper conduct" for Coburn to meet with Douglas Hampton, the former aide who tried to work as a lobbyist after the affair forced him out of Ensign's office.

California Treasurer Bill Lockyer on Tuesday asked the country's biggest public pension fund to conduct an internal investigation into investments it made through so-called placement agents, who raise funds for outside asset managers. The request to the California Public Employees' Retirement System board is the latest fallout from investigations by New York Atty. Gen. Andrew Cuomo and the Securities and Exchange Commission of alleged pension-fund improprieties in New York state.

Former state Senate leader Don Perata has requested a probe of whether FBI agents and federal prosecutors in Sacramento are acting improperly in trying to revive a corruption investigation that was dropped by another U.S. attorney's office, his lawyer said Wednesday. In a letter to the inspector general for the U.S. Justice Department, George O'Connell, an attorney for Perata, accused Acting U.S. Atty. Lawrence G.

washington -- The Senate Select Committee on Ethics harshly criticized Sen. Larry E. Craig (R-Idaho) on Wednesday for his actions during and after his arrest last summer in a men's restroom at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport. In a strongly worded "public letter of admonition," the panel of three Democrats and three Republicans told Craig that his behavior constituted "improper conduct reflecting discreditably on the Senate."

Times writer Michael Hiltzik has inaccurately described so-called "private trials" conducted primarily by retired judges and justices in California ("Private Justice Can Be Yours if You're Rich," March 16). Contrary to the information apparently provided to your writer, all temporary judges are lawyers, whether active or inactive, and all are subject to discipline for improper conduct. All sitting judges in California have a vested interest in maintaining public confidence in any proceeding that begins or ends with affirmation by the court.

A second naval officer will be subjected to a court-martial over his role in helping to recruit Dr. Donal M. Billig, a heart surgeon at Bethesda Naval Hospital who is accused of manslaughter in the deaths of five patients. Cmdr. Reginald E. Newman is charged with dereliction of duty, making false statements, perjury and conduct unbecoming an officer, the Navy said. On Oct. 22, the Navy announced it would court-martial Lt. Cmdr. Jerry D.

The most interesting aspect of this whole fiasco is how Clarence Thomas all of a sudden "realized" he was black. Up until the point where Hill raised the allegation of his improper conduct, Thomas never mentioned that he was black and made every effort for his skin color not to be an issue. Yet, when it looked as if the appointment was in jeopardy, all of a sudden Thomas is a black being unfairly singled out. The hypocrisy is all too fitting for this appointee. KELVIN D. FILER, Compton

The Roman Catholic chaplain at USC has been temporarily removed from his post pending an investigation of allegations involving inappropriate physical conduct with an adult, a Los Angeles Archdiocese spokesman said Monday. Father William Messenger, the 55-year-old pastor at Our Savior Catholic Center, was placed on administrative leave Friday while USC and the archdiocese conduct an investigation, said archdiocesan spokesman Tod Tamberg. Messenger has served at USC since 1993.

Label-making giant Avery Dennison Corp. disclosed Thursday that it had found "instances of improper conduct" by employees in its European operations and said it expected the infractions to result in fines that might be hefty. Pasadena-based Avery said in a Securities and Exchange Commission filing that the misconduct was uncovered during an internal probe.