Supervisors Disclose Fees, Free Trips on ’89 Income Reports

Los Angeles County Supervisor Pete Schabarum collected $19,200 last year to serve on the board of a savings and loan.

Supervisor Mike Antonovich picked up $3,600 by attending a luncheon every other month as a director of a private computer firm.

And Supervisor Ed Edelman supplemented his $89,851-a-year board salary by working as a mediator in labor disputes.

Those are among the highlights of financial disclosure reports filed Monday by the supervisors. Under state law, they are required to disclose their outside income, private investments, free trips and gifts--like fruit baskets, liquor and tickets to concerts and sporting events.

Edelman and Schabarum each accepted more than $13,000 worth of gifts. Schabarum reported free trips to British Columbia, Costa Rica and Mexico. Edelman received memberships in the Beverly Hills Tennis Club and Mountain Gate Country Club and a trip to Switzerland. Antonovich received a trip to Israel and free pair of eyeglasses.

In the city of Los Angeles, criticism of Mayor Tom Bradley’s acceptance of director’s fees from financial institutions doing business with the city has spawned a proposed ban on outside work by city officials. But the supervisors said their private employment poses no conflict because the companies that have paid them do not conduct business with the county.

Schabarum, with a 22-page statement listing stocks and real estate holdings worth at least $932,000 and possibly more than $3 million, is the wealthiest member of the five-member board.

Supervisor Kenneth Hahn has no stock or real estate except for his house in Southwest Los Angeles. Hahn said he turned down an invitation to serve on the board of a bank because he is too busy being a supervisor.

It is impossible to determine the exact value of the supervisors’ holdings from the material released Monday because they were required to disclose their personal finances only in broad categories of $1,000 to $10,000, $10,001 to $100,000 and more than $100,000.

Schabarum, who became wealthy as a land developer before he was appointed to the board in 1972, reported that he owned stock in 16 companies including AT&T;, Du Pont, Ford and General Motors. He also had an interest in five properties, including a wind farm in Tehachapi, and had money invested in 10 mutual funds.

Schabarum received at least $42,200 in outside income last year, including $19,200 from First Federal Savings & Loan Assn. of San Gabriel Valley, where he has been a director since 1973.

“I was invited to be a member,” Schabarum said in a recent interview. “It’s something I wanted to do simply because, one, it poses no opportunity for conflict; two, it keeps my hand in the private sector, at least to some extent. That allows me to understand what’s going on in the financial markets and in the home building markets.”

Barry Anderson, president of First Federal Savings & Loan, said the thrift is primarily in the business of providing mortgages to home buyers. It does not conduct business with the county, he said.

Antonovich was paid $3,600 last year to serve on the board of Pacific Data Management Corp., a Santa Monica-based computer firm.

Antonovich said he was invited to join the board by company chairman Joe Crail, whom he met when they both were active in Young Republicans in college.

Crail, appointed by Antonovich to the county’s Economy and Efficiency Commission, said he asked Antonovich to serve on the board because “he has quite of bit of knowledge and experience in business.”

Antonovich reported investments in real estate and stocks worth between $145,000 and $560,000.

He said he owned stock in 15 companies, including Far East National Bank--the same institution that employed Bradley as an adviser. Bradley’s relationship with the bank led to the proposed city ethics reforms. But whereas city funds were invested in Far East National Bank, no county funds have been invested there, according to county officials.

Antonovich said he bought stock in Far East in December, 1987, after bank President Henry Hwang and Vice President Steve Bubalo said it would be a good investment. He owns between $10,000 and $100,000 worth of Far East stock.

Edelman’s investments were limited to interests, worth about $150,000, in six properties.

He said he received about $7,000 last year for serving as a labor mediator.

A former National Labor Relations Board attorney, Edelman said he remains on the list of mediators provided by the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service to companies and unions during labor disputes. Last year, he received fees for mediation from such groups as the Teamsters and United Steelworkers of America.

Supervisor Deane Dana reported real estate and stock holdings valued at between $11,000 and $110,000. He reported no outside income.