Censured Councilwoman Calls for Investigation

La Puente Councilwoman Sally Fallon said Thursday that she has asked the district attorney to investigate allegations made against her by fellow council members.

The unusual request--not her first--comes a few days after the rest of the City Council voted unanimously to censure her, alleging that she leaked confidential information to a city employee.

“The allegations . . . were a surprise to me, since I have never discussed closed-session information with anyone other than those present,” Fallon said in a faxed letter to the Los Angeles County district attorney’s office. “I am concerned that I could be the victim of a conspiracy. These serious charges must be investigated so that it can be ascertained who is involved and bring them to justice.”

Councilman Joe Alderete, who recommended Fallon’s third and latest censure, also suggested bringing the district attorney into the fray.

“I would like to send a letter to the D.A. so that the D.A. knows what is going on in the city in case anything else happens,” Alderete said.

The district attorney’s office couldn’t be reached for comment.

According to the allegations in her censure, Fallon had told Finance Director Ted Abo that his future in La Puente looked dim, following a closed session meeting in which Robert Gutierrez proposed reorganizing the finance department and one other department, Gutierrez said.

In addition to disclosing closed-session information--a violation of what Alderete called “the code of honor we have here”--Fallon’s alleged leak was fallacious.

“We were discussing reorganization to support those department heads,” Gutierrez said. “What she [told Abo] was the total opposite of our intent.”

Both sides recognize that the district attorney has little authority or interest in mediating among confrontational co-workers, but Fallon is asking for an investigation because “if they’re trying to frame me, I want that brought out.”