Debate by Garcetti’s Challengers Focuses on Belmont, Rampart

Dist. Atty. Gil Garcetti’s two challengers in the March 7 primary election criticized the county’s top prosecutor Tuesday night for his handling of the Belmont Learning Complex fiasco and Rampart police scandal and for not attending the debate.

“The fact that Gil Garcetti is not here tonight speaks loudly, . . . “ said candidate Barry Groveman. “It’s indicative of the problem that prompted both of us to run.”

The debate at the Criminal Courts Building, which was attended by about 50 people, was sponsored by the Assn. of Deputy District Attorneys. Groveman and candidate Stephen Cooley said Garcetti was disrespectful of his colleagues in refusing to show up.

Garcetti did not debate, said his campaign manager Bill Carrick, because “there are two of them running almost their entire campaign negatively against Gil. If there’s a runoff in March and a one-on-one race, we’ll be glad to debate.”

Cooley said Garcetti failed to investigate why the Belmont Learning Complex was scheduled to be built on a contaminated site.

“I would have assigned two deputy district attorneys to investigate if there was collusion or any environmental law violations, . . .” Cooley said. “Mr. Garcetti has done nothing about this. Doesn’t he realize that’s what the chief prosecutor does? Mr. Garcetti has been AWOL.”

Groveman said the district attorney should have initiated grand jury proceedings.

“If your hands are tied and your money’s disappearing, it’s fair to assume you’re getting robbed, . . .” Groveman said. “I would have gotten to the bottom of the scandal.”

Groveman, 46, who has been a vocal critic of building the Belmont Learning Complex on the site, heads a district task force investigating toxic hazards at school sites. He is an environmental defense lawyer who has been a paid legal advisor for the Los Angeles Unified School District for 10 years. Groveman, a partner in a Century City corporate law firm, has been in private practice since 1986.

Cooley, 52, is a career prosecutor who is in charge of the district attorney’s welfare fraud unit. During his 26 years on the district attorney’s staff, he has been chief deputy in charge of the Antelope Valley and San Fernando branch offices and founded the major narcotics unit.

Groveman and Cooley have criticized Garcetti for the unfolding Rampart police scandal. They said the district attorney should have ensured that his office spotted problems in cases while they were being prosecuted.

In order to more efficiently root out LAPD corruption, Cooley said, the district attorney’s Special Investigation Division, which currently investigates public corruption and police misconduct, should be “broken up.”

“If you make it two separate divisions, it will be a lot more efficient,” Cooley said after the debate. “That way it will be fully accountable for allegations of police misconduct.”

Groveman called for changes in the way the district attorney’s office handles officer-involved shootings.

“I would require that within 90 days of receipt of an investigation report, a decision would be made how to handle the case,” Groveman said. “Now it can go on for two years, which allows the current D.A. to wait until the heat dies down on cases before he makes any decisions.”

Groveman said that if he is elected, he will direct the district attorney’s office to emphasize prosecuting child abuse cases and public corruption. Groveman has also vowed to fight fraud and influence peddling on large public projects.

Cooley criticized the way the district attorney’s office handles three-strikes cases. Currently, some defendants face 25 years to life in prison for committing third strikes, such as petty theft, that are not truly serious or violent felonies.

“I think a sense of proportion and even-handedness should apply here,” he said. “If I was D.A., they’d end up in prison, but not necessarily for life. “

Cooley lambasted Garcetti for what he characterized as ethical shortcomings. He recounted how Garcetti’s reelection campaign received $15,000 last year from Lockheed Martin IMS employees a month before the prosecutor’s office recommended that the company get an extra $2.5 million for running the county’s child support computer system. He accused Garcetti of “selling the office” and “shaking down” contributors.

Garcetti, who is seeking a third term as district attorney, has been challenged before by a staffer. Weakened by his office’s failure to win a guilty verdict in the O.J. Simpson murder trial, Garcetti was nearly beaten in 1996 by John Lynch, the head of the branch office in Norwalk. With 2.2 million votes cast, Lynch came within 5,000 votes of defeating Garcetti.