Payola

For the third time in seven years, a Los Angeles judge has thrown out a high-profile payola case against Los Angeles record promoter Joseph Isgro. In a nine-page ruling, U.S. District Judge Consuelo B. Marshall dismissed the case Monday, accusing prosecutors of violating the speedy trial act. The 57-count indictment against Isgro, which spurred grand jury investigations in five cities and cost an estimated $10 million to prosecute, was the biggest payola case in U.S. history.

Payola Case Heads for Trial: After eight years and an estimated $10 million in government expenditures, the biggest payola case in history is set to go to trial May 9. There is still a possibility that the case, in which record promoter Joe Isgro was indicted in 1989 in Los Angeles on more than 50 felony counts, could be resolved in the weeks ahead with a plea arrangement. But Judge Consuelo B.

Ten years ago, the government's probe of the music business seemed to have all the makings of a major scandal: sex, drugs, rock 'n' roll, and seedy Mafia-laundered payola. But thanks to a bumbling series of government gaffes, the investigation turned out to be a bust--costing taxpayers more than $10 million without putting a single criminal behind bars.

In a humiliating defeat for the Justice Department, a Los Angeles judge Monday abruptly closed the book on the biggest payola case in history. Following two hours of intense arguments, U.S. District Judge Consuelo B. Marshall ruled that the federal government had violated the speedy-trial act and dismissed the 7-year-old case against Burbank record promoter Joseph Isgro, who was accused of payola, racketeering and more than four dozen other counts.

Bimbos' nightclub in San Francisco was packed as soul singer D'Angelo took the stage. The New York entertainer's debut single, "Brown Sugar," was already a hit on the East Coast. But his record company, EMI Music, was having trouble getting the song played on pop radio in California. By the time D'Angelo launched into "Brown Sugar" one night last summer, Bimbos was swarming with dozens of West Coast radio programmers--all of whom had been flown in with their dates at EMI's expense.

Record promotion--the shadowy practice of persuading radio stations to play new songs--is under siege again. The Los Angeles office of the Justice Department is preparing to prosecute the biggest payola case in history--which six years ago accused independent promotion kingpin Joseph Isgro of bribing radio programmers and racketeering. The case, which was dismissed in 1990 and reinstated two years later, is expected to reach trial before September. Last month, the U.S.

Isgro Payola Case Delayed: The resolution of the biggest payola case in history was postponed when the Justice Department assigned a new prosecutor from the Washington branch of the Organized Crime and Racketeering Strike Force to settle the matter. The case, in which record promoter Joe Isgro was indicted in Los Angeles for payola and 56 other felony counts, is expected to be resolved in December with a plea bargain arrangement. U.S. District Judge James M.

Sex Mob, a New York band that records for a small music label, was good enough to nab a Grammy nomination last year for best contemporary jazz album. But it wasn't good enough to be heard on commercial radio. That now may change. Four of the nation's largest radio-station chains have agreed to air thousands of hours of music from independent record labels and local musicians.

Federal regulators Friday announced an unprecedented settlement with four radio broadcast companies on charges of accepting cash and merchandise from record companies in exchange for airplay. The four broadcasters will pay a combined $12.5-million fine and agree that their 1,653 stations will not engage in payola practices, according to a consent decree with the Federal Communications Commission. The radio companies involved -- Clear Channel Communications Inc., CBS Radio Inc.

Re "Pressure grows on Wolfowitz," May 8 The World Bank needs an investigation, but for much more than some payola matter involving Paul Wolfowitz's girlfriend. For the last half a century, the World Bank (and the CIA) have been the primary institutions for exploiting the developing world and creating reservoirs of animosity toward the United States. Haven't the media noticed how many governments in Latin America have become resistant? RICHARD BAKER \o7Beverly Hills \f7