Ethics Panel Levies Fines for Political Money Laundering

Continuing its prosecution against political money laundering in City Hall campaigns, the Los Angeles Ethics Commission on Tuesday levied $147,000 in fines against 13 participants in two separate schemes.

The fines bring to $736,615 the total penalties approved by the panel in recent months against 112 people, including associates of Westside developer Mark Alan Abrams. The associates admitted Abrams reimbursed them for contributions to the 2001 mayoral campaign of James K. Hahn.

Other fines were levied against subcontractors of development firm Casden Properties Inc. after a vice president of the firm allegedly aided a scheme to support the 2001 mayoral campaign of Kathleen Connell.

Political money laundering, in which people who write checks to candidates are reimbursed by others, circumvents the city’s $1,000 limit on individual contributions.

“The board’s unanimous actions today are an important reminder that the commission will be vigilant in upholding contribution limits and the integrity of city elections,” said Dale Bonner, the commission vice president.

In a separate action, the Ethics Commission also approved $33,000 in fines and restitution to be paid by four candidates in the 2001 mayoral election.

Former mayoral candidates Xavier Becerra, Kathleen Connell, Steven Soboroff and Joel Wachs agreed to pay the fines. Connell and Wachs were fined for accepting contributions that exceeded campaign limits, while Becerra and Soboroff failed to submit copies of mass mailers to the Ethics Commission as required by campaign laws.

Also Tuesday, Ethics Commissioner Bill Boyarsky, a former Times city editor, called for a ban on city loans to city commissioners, citing recent articles in the newspaper about two partnerships involving Harbor Commissioner James Acevedo, who missed payments to the city on $4.1 million in loans for housing projects that were never built.