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Conflict of Interest Costs Riordan $3,000 Fine

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Los Angeles Mayor Richard Riordan has agreed to pay a $3,000 fine for violating the state’s conflict of interest law, his attorney said Wednesday.

In a proposed settlement reached last week with the staff of the California Fair Political Practices Commission, Riordan acknowledged that he had a conflict of interest when he twice acted on matters involving a tenant in the Fine Arts Building, a historic office complex in downtown Los Angeles.

The multimillionaire mayor owns a 13% share of the building, and one of the tenants, the architectural firm of A.C. Martin and Associates, has a contract for seismic reinforcement at City Hall. The mayor signed a budget for the project that included the A.C. Martin contract and then forwarded contract amendments involving the firm.

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After press inquiries about his actions, the mayor’s office last spring called it an inadvertent, honest mistake. Riordan’s attorney, Colleen McAndrews, said the commission staff shaved $1,000 off the standard penalty because the “mayor had come forward and cooperated fully” in what she called a “very thorough investigation.”

The five-member commission is expected to vote on the staff’s recommendation during its next regular monthly meeting on Sept. 5.

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