TIMELINE
* 1981 - Formed his own corporation, David P. Garofalo & Associates.
* 1990 - Became publisher of the Independent, a position he held for a
short time.
* December 1993 -- Newspaper publisher Dave Garofalo awarded contract
to publish Huntington Beach Visitors Guide.
* November 1994 -- Garofalo elected to Huntington Beach City Council.
* January 1998 -- Garofalo sells Visitor Guide publishing rights to a
longtime friend.
* July 1998 -- Garofalo purchases home for $565,000 and sells it a day
later to a friend for $625,000.
* October 1998 -- Fair Political Practices Commission advises Garofalo
to abstain from voting on matters involving advertisers for a year after
receiving payment.
* 1999 - Became mayor through rotation
* May 2000 -- Complaint filed with FPPC claiming Garofalo violated
state voting and conflict-of-interest laws.
* June 2000 -- Huntington Beach city attorney launches an
investigation into the relationship between the Visitors Guide, Garofalo
and the Huntington Beach Conference and Visitors Bureau.
* July 2000 -- Orange County district attorney’s office requests
minutes from council meetings since December 1994 and statements of
economic interest as part of a Garofalo conflict-of-interest
investigation.
* July 2000 -- City attorney turns over investigation to district
attorney’s office and FPPC.
* July 2000 -- Garofalo admits to casting hundreds of votes aiding
advertisers while unaware of potential conflict.
* August 2000 -- City attorney orders Huntington Beach Conference and
Visitors Bureau to terminate Visitors Guide contract with Garofalo.
* April 2001 -- District attorney’s office serves search warrants on
Garofalo’s home, cars, business and bank accounts and on the offices of
his business’ new owners.
* June 2001 -- Council rejects request to pay Garofalo’s legal fees
and any civil fines that stem from criminal probe.
* July 2001 -- Court documents allege that Garofalo repeatedly
violated state conflict-of-interest laws and failed to report business
income for at least two years.
* December 2001 -- Resigns his City Council seat, saying he wants to
devote more attention to “personal issues.”* January 2002 -- Pleads
guilty to one felony and 15 misdemeanor charges and is placed on three
years unsupervised probation, charged fines totaling $49,700, is
sentenced to 200 hours of community service and is forever banned from
holding public office in California.
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