Los Angeles Ethics Commission

A real estate development company that regularly received funds from Los Angeles leaders to build affordable housing projects has agreed to pay $165,000 to end an ethics investigation into allegations of campaign money-laundering. Investigators with the city Ethics Commission concluded Advanced Development and Investment Inc. and its affiliated construction company, Pacific Housing Diversified, made 33 contributions totaling $23,850 under assumed names between 1999 and 2009. Advanced Development executives used cash and checks from company accounts to improperly reimburse employees who had made the contributions, the agency found.

A real estate development company that regularly received funds from Los Angeles leaders to build affordable housing projects has agreed to pay $165,000 to end an ethics investigation into allegations of campaign money-laundering. Investigators with the city Ethics Commission concluded Advanced Development and Investment Inc. and its affiliated construction company, Pacific Housing Diversified, made 33 contributions totaling $23,850 under assumed names between 1999 and 2009. Advanced Development executives used cash and checks from company accounts to improperly reimburse employees who had made the contributions, the agency found.

City Atty. Rocky Delgadillo on Monday announced that he has nominated private-practice attorney Helen Zukin as his appointee to the Los Angeles Ethics Commission. If confirmed by the City Council, Zukin would replace former Delgadillo appointee Uri D. Herscher. Other members of the commission are appointed by the mayor, controller and leaders of the council. The panel oversees enforcement of city ethics and campaign finance laws.

From the start, the hoopla over Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa's acceptance of free tickets to Lakers games, Dodgers games and sundry other Los Angeles festivities without reporting them as gifts has been at least as much about subtext as scandal. No one really thought he'd be fined or punished, but the smarmy business of entertaining himself at others' expense reinforced his image as a pampered, self-indulgent lightweight rather than a public official of gravity and significance. Of course, Villaraigosa is hardly alone in his bad habits.

Want to know if a certain Los Angeles City Council member accepted a contribution from a city contractor, or how much the mayor raises for pet ballot measures? Campaign finance information can now be accessed over the Internet, thanks to a new, Web-based program unveiled Thursday by the Los Angeles Ethics Commission. The database can be reached at www.lacity.

The Los Angeles Ethics Commission on Thursday boosted the amount of city matching funds available to candidates in the upcoming elections. The limit for mayoral candidates went from $333,500 to $533,600. The commission, which has $8 million available, said earlier in the election season that the large number of candidates and the amounts they expected to raise would make it impossible to provide the level of matching funds initially expected.

The Los Angeles Ethics Commission said Wednesday that 41 of the 44 candidates running for city office in March have agreed to limit spending in exchange for public matching funds. Council candidates may receive public funds to match contributions of up to $250 from individuals if they agree to limit spending to $330,000 in the primary and $275,000 in the runoff. City Council candidates who decided not to participate in the program were former Police Chief Bernard C.

Re "Ex-D.A. Nominated for City Ethics Panel Post," Aug. 15: It was wholly inappropriate for Los Angeles City Council President Alex Padilla to appoint former Dist. Atty. Gil Garcetti to the city of Los Angeles' Ethics Commission, because his son Eric Garcetti is a member of the L.A. City Council. A conflict of interest is inherent in the position to which the elder Garcetti is appointed. It also shows that, despite term limits, a new "old boys' network" exists. It is naive to think that having a Garcetti on the City Council didn't help secure the appointment.

The Los Angeles Ethics Commission, responding to a City Council candidate's complaint, agreed Friday to hold debates for all candidates for city office sometime before the April elections. The logistics of handling 11 races--involving more than 70 candidates for eight City Council seats and the offices of mayor, city attorney and controller--still must be worked out. In most cases, the city may simply sponsor debates being held by private groups so long as all candidates are invited.

The Los Angeles Ethics Commission on Wednesday asked a state appellate court to overturn a ruling barring it from investigating alleged felonies. At issue is Superior Court Judge Robert H. O'Brien's recent decision to block the panel's participation in a felony investigation of alleged payroll irregularities in the office of City Atty. James K. Hahn. O'Brien ruled that the Ethics Commission's investigatory powers were limited to misdemeanors. The appeal filed by Edward M.

A majority of the Los Angeles Ethics Commission said Tuesday that elected officials should be required to report the value of free tickets they receive to concerts, sports events and other cultural activities — even when they are attending as part of their official duties. As they reviewed a plan to update the city's disclosure law and ensure that gifts are not a factor in government decisions, three of the panel's five members expressed support for a provision that would require the mayor, the City Council, department heads and other high-level officials to state what official business they performed at each free event.

A lawyer representing six current and former employees of Los Angeles World Airports said Wednesday that the city's Ethics Commission has dropped a conflict-of-interest investigation into travel to China and New England by his clients. Attorney Terree Bowers said Ethics Commission Executive Director LeeAnn Pelham directed her staff to close the investigation, which was examining whether the airport officials violated the law by receiving discounted trips from an association that represents dozens of international airlines that use Los Angeles International Airport.

City ethics investigators have recommended that civil charges be brought against six current and former officials at Los Angeles World Airports who allegedly accepted thousands of dollars worth of discounted trips to China and New England from an association that represents dozens of international airlines that use LAX. According to records obtained by The Times, the trips involved a weeklong cruise last year along the New England and Canadian coasts...

Re "Delgadillo fete raises hackles," March 7 So City Atty. Rocky Delgadillo is having a lavish party thrown for him by a City Hall lobbyist who represented Clear Channel in a billboard fight that ended in the company's favor. Clear Channel was one of several entities that spent $425,000 to promote Delgadillo's candidacy on billboards. When this was discovered, the Los Angeles Ethics Commission fined Clear Channel $30,000 for failing to promptly disclose its role in backing Delgadillo and a council member.

A former Los Angeles city councilman who has worked behind the scenes to influence city officials for years submitted forms this week publicly identifying himself as a lobbyist, Ethics Commission officials said Wednesday. Former Councilman Richard Alatorre filed the forms Tuesday, two weeks after The Times reported that he had spoken to city representatives on behalf of a dozen businesses and unions. Unlike other professional advocates, he had not registered as a lobbyist.

The Los Angeles Ethics Commission approved $11,450 in fines Tuesday against City Atty. Rocky Delgadillo for 30 counts of violating campaign finance laws. The panel concluded that Delgadillo's political officeholder account failed to provide a detailed itemization of how $394 spent on meals and more than $1,200 on flowers, candy and other gifts were related to his conduct of official business. Those represent 25 administrative counts.

A ban on political contributions from businesses to city officials who award them contracts would not be effective, the Los Angeles Ethics Commission was told Thursday. Instead, businesses might be required to disclose political contributions when they bid for city work, Rebecca Avila, the executive director, told commission members. Avila said a ban would be ineffective because it would not stop employees of city contractors from giving to elected officials.

The Los Angeles Ethics Commission on Tuesday levied $38,695 in fines against Regency Outdoor Advertising for disclosure-rule violations involving billboards it provided in the 2001 municipal elections. The amount was more than five times what an administrative law judge had recommended. Regency had exercised its right to have the commission staff's initial finding of violations heard by a judge.

The Los Angeles Ethics Commission decided Tuesday to refer accusations of campaign finance violations against Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa to an administrative law judge, despite objections that the mayor's involvement makes the case too important not to be heard by the panel.

Two City Hall lobbyists who are former presidents of city commissions have agreed to pay fines for violating city ethics rules, according to documents released Thursday by the Los Angeles Ethics Commission. Dominick Rubalcava, who was president of the city Water and Power Commission during the administration of Mayor James K. Hahn, was fined $3,000 for failing to register as a City Hall lobbyist, pay registration fees and file quarterly activity reports.