Assistant Chiefs’ Requests for Raises Investigated

The Los Angeles Police Department’s top civilian watchdog is investigating whether two of Chief Willie L. Williams’ top assistants improperly submitted paperwork for 5% raises in an attempt to boost their salaries before the chief leaves office, sources confirmed Friday.

The probe into Assistant Chiefs Frank Piersol and Ronald C. Banks comes as they have been told that they face demotions in rank and job transfers once Assistant Chief Bayan Lewis is sworn in as the department’s interim chief in two weeks. Additionally, their pay may be cut if they do not retire by July 1, sources said.

Piersol and Banks have denied any wrongdoing in connection to the raise issue. They said they were merely trying to determine whether they were eligible for the raises when they formally submitted the paperwork. When they were informed they were not, the matter was dropped, they said.

“I don’t know how this could be construed as there being any nefarious intent,” Banks said in an interview Friday.

In a letter this week to Police Commission President Raymond C. Fisher, Banks said he had been informed that LAPD Inspector General Katherine Mader “has launched an ‘official’ investigation of alleged criminal misconduct which may focus on me.” He complains in the letter that because of the investigation and the possible demotion, he has been denied “any common courtesy and respect due my position and tenure with the organization.”

According to sources close to the probe, Mader launched her investigation last month after receiving a tip that Piersol and Banks were intentionally and improperly seeking the raises. Several department officials apparently have been interviewed about the matter.

Mader would not confirm whether an investigation is underway.

Although Williams approved the raises, a spokesman for him said the chief was not aware that his top two assistants were ineligible for the increases. The pair are not legally eligible for the raises until the end of the year.

Sources close to the inspector general, however, said she launched the investigation because she believes that if the assistant chiefs requested the raises with the knowledge that they were not entitled to them, it would be akin to lower-ranking officers falsifying overtime claims to get money they don’t deserve. Furthermore, the raises--worth several thousands of dollars annually--would have had significant implications for their pensions once they retired.

“This is a very serious issue,” one department official said.

Piersol and Banks are likely to retire once Williams leaves the department and a new chief is appointed, insiders say.

Some department officials say Mader is trying to assert her oversight authority over LAPD employees, including its command officers. Her internal probes and audits have become a sore point for some command staffers who believe she is unjustly besmirching reputations and does not understand the nuances of police work.

Her supporters contend that she is making sure that all officers within the department are held accountable for misconduct and disciplined appropriately.

Mader, who has had the job for about 10 months, is the department’s first inspector general. She is a civilian employee who reports to the Police Commission and whose duties include the authority to “audit, investigate, and oversee the Police Department’s handling of complaints of misconduct.”

In addition to the inspector general’s investigation, Banks and Piersol have been told by Lewis that they probably will be demoted to the rank of deputy chief and transferred to new assignments once he is sworn into office.

As part of the transfers, Deputy Chiefs Bernard Parks and Mark Kroeker--the front-runners for the permanent chief’s position--have been told they will be reassigned to two of the department’s top jobs. Parks is slated to be head of the Office of Operations, while Kroeker will probably be tapped to become head of the Office of Administrative Services.

Banks, who sent a copy of his letter to Fisher to attorney Johnnie L. Cochran Jr., said he is exploring his legal options.

Efforts to reach Piersol late Friday were unsuccessful.