Vernon Official Is a Target of D.A. Probe

Los Angeles County district attorney investigators probing possible misuse of public funds in the industrial city of Vernon are focusing in part on longtime City Administrator Bruce V. Malkenhorst Sr., according to a court record obtained Friday.

Malkenhorst, who has been among the highest-paid government officials in the country, is identified as a suspect in a hearing notice prepared by the district attorney’s office and filed in Superior Court.

Malkenhorst and other Vernon officials, including City Atty. Eric Fresch, have either declined to be interviewed by The Times or not responded to requests for comment.

The full outlines of the investigation in the 5-square-mile city southeast of downtown Los Angeles remain unclear. Last week, the district attorney’s public integrity division served search warrants at 10 locations, including Malkenhorst’s Huntington Beach home and the Vernon residences of Mayor Leonis C. Malburg and four City Council members, according to sources familiar with the probe. A warrant also was served at a mansion the mayor owns in the Hancock Park section of Los Angeles.

Head Deputy Dist. Atty. David Demerjian said last week that the investigation involves allegations of misuse of public money and includes multiple targets, but he declined to identify who they are.

In recent years, Malkenhorst has been paid about $600,000 in salary, bonuses and compensation for unused vacation. His other benefits have included more than $120,000 in limousine services, a leased Cadillac Escalade, use of a city-owned apartment in Vernon and a $1-million life insurance policy.

City officials credit Malkenhorst with reducing crime and attracting business investment.

Earlier this week, Malkenhorst’s son, Bruce Malkenhorst Jr., an assistant Vernon city attorney, said he could not provide a copy of the latest City Council-approved compensation package for his father because district attorney investigators took the records.

At a court hearing Friday, attorneys for the city signaled that they planned to oppose giving investigators access to some records, which they claim are protected by attorney-client privilege.

The content of those documents, which remain under seal, was not disclosed.