Hahn Says Bradley Should Have No Role in Rittenberg Personnel Case

Citing “unique and extraordinary circumstances,” City Atty. James K. Hahn said Wednesday that Mayor Tom Bradley should be disqualified from deciding whether to discipline City Treasurer Leonard Rittenberg, a central figure in the controversy over the mayor’s personal finances.

Bradley had requested a Personnel Department inquiry into Rittenberg’s performance last July after a series of disclosures about possible irregularities involving city deposits placed in Far East National Bank, for which Bradley was a paid consultant.

Hahn said in a written opinion that the city’s Board of Referred Powers--a panel of five council members--should hear the Rittenberg case, instead of Bradley.

“Because of your own personal involvement in some of the events . . . members of the public may well question your objectivity,” the opinion said.

Hahn issued the opinion at the request of Bradley, who last week asked that he be disqualified from the Rittenberg case, because the mayor or his staff may be called as witnesses in the matter.

In a letter to Hahn, Bradley said, “The plain fact is that, because of my relationship to parts of this matter, any action I might take concerning the report would be questioned.”

Bradley said that any action he took “might be seen as too lenient or too harsh and as motivated by self-serving reasons.”

It was Rittenberg’s decision last March 22 to invest $2 million in Far East, without competitive bidding, that thrust him into the middle of a controversy over Bradley’s relationship with the bank.

Bradley had telephoned Rittenberg on the morning the money was deposited, but both men deny that the mayor attempted to influence the decision.

The mayor’s office received the Personnel Department report on Rittenberg last week, but the envelope has remained sealed while Hahn’s office reviewed the matter, according to Bill Chandler, Bradley’s press secretary.

Under normal circumstances, Bradley would preside over a personnel matter, recommending--depending on the contents of a report--either no action, disciplinary sanctions or firing.

Attempts to reach Rittenberg for comment Wednesday were unsuccessful.

Councilman Zev Yaroslavsky, a member of the Board of Referred Powers, said Wednesday that the situation is “unprecedented” and that the board will now have to design a procedure for dealing with personnel matters.

“It’s going to be awkward,” Yaroslavsky said.

The board was set up to act in place of city officials or commissioners who have a conflict of interest on a specific issue.

As chairman of the City Council’s Finance Committee, Yaroslavsky has presided over a number of hearings on Rittenberg’s investment policies and the handling of the Far East deposits.

“I have never come to a conclusion about what I think should happen to Rittenberg,” Yaroslavsky said. “I think we can be fair, and I think we have to be fair.”

The contents of the Personnel Department report have not been publicly disclosed and will remain private throughout any hearings by the Board of Referred Powers, Yaroslavsky said. It is not known whether the report recommends any disciplinary action, he added.

“Under the crazy Civil Service rules of this city, it is possible to commit a wrongful act and not be punished for it,” Yaroslavsky said.

The other council members on the board are Richard Alatorre, Ruth Galanter, Hal Bernson and Joan Milke Flores.