Where the hell is Stevie Kaufman when you really need him?
As Ron reported a couple days ago, Stevie, an attorney who specializes in campaign and fund-raising law, represents just about every Democratic politician from San Diego to Sacramento – including Mayor Antonio.
According to Fox 11′s John Schwada, a one-time ink-stained wretch who thought he was too good looking for print, Antonio and his girlfriend Lu Parker, a former beauty queen turned TV reporter who is without doubt way too good looking for print, are sitting courtside in $2,000 seats at Lakers playoff games for free.
The story angle was that the tickets are not reported on the mayor’s gift disclosure forms, and that if they’re a gift of Staples Center he can’t legally accept them (or any gift) because arena owner AEG lobbies the city and get subsidies so big they could solve the financial problems of all the hundreds of thousands of people Antonio’s policies have sent to the unemployment line.
The mayor told Schwada that at the last game he was a guest of his “friend” Jeffrey Katzenberg, and insists that because he’s at the game in an “official capacity” as mayor the tickets don’t have to be reported as gifts.
Holy pooper-scooper! An official capacity? Did he play? Referee? Sing the national anthem?
I can only guess Antonio was answering on the basis of Stevie’s legal advice that he could bring his honey to game and sit courtside without having to dig deep into his own pocket (ouch!), or, better yet, use his Officeholder Account, if there’s anything in there. Under state rules that would be a bad dog’s trick, but in LA, you can use the dough for virtually anything – except campaigning.
I also wonder if the Dog Trainer has failed to notice his honor holding court courtside? Before it was decimated by layoffs of half its staff, the city’s paper of record like to think it didn’t miss such dirty tricks. Now, we need a TV reporter to tell us what’s going on.
Six years ago when the Dog Trainer was eviscerating Fleishman Hilliard’s relationship with the DWP and the office of Mayor James “Never Touch Me or Call Me Jimmy” Hahn, the Dog Trainer put a team of reporters on the job to find out if the DWP was secretly paying for Hahn’s seats behind the Dodgers dugout.
Steve Lopez, famous for “The Soloist” movie about a homeless bum with
musical talent and being the highest paid writer in town, the staff had
great fun with some emails the Dog Trainer obtained between Fleishman
Hilliard GM Doug Dowie and Jimmy’s press secretary Julie Wong in which
they tried to control the inquiry by keeping the less-than-bright
interim DWP GM Frank Salas away from the press.
“If Salas isn’t
allowed to talk to reporters,” Lopez wrote in July 2004, “and he needs
$3 million a year worth of strategic counsel and the like, why not get
rid of him, the executive staff and the 23-person PR staff at DWP and
let Dowie run the place?”
Given what’s happened at the DWP in the
last six years, that might not have been a bad idea.
The DWP has
become the utility of ill repute with a new GM every year and Dowie got
in a lot of trouble in what became a criminal case involving
over-billing the DWP. He, by the way, is still available to run the DWP
as he waits while the case drags through the appeal process..
Nothing
ever came of the Dodger ticket issue or Laura Chick’s original
pay-for-play accusations.
Nowadays Dowie will be the first guy to
tell you he had a lot faults, but he was no dummy about the law. After
all, he was getting legal advice from Stevie Kaufman just like the
mayor..
Woof!!
A few years ago, at a CRA meeting, the attorney reviewed the city ethics laws in detail and specifically mentioned sports tickets (such as Dodger’s game) as reportable. The City attorney, a decent guy, also discussed monetary limits and the issue of lobbying, etc.
It was really good. If they still have the recording, all elected officials and city employees should be required to view it.
Tony ran against Jimmy on tranparency , clean government, honesty etc,etc,etc. Well, he should disclose who gave him the tickets, now that he got caught. The legal issue is another story. But we deserve to know who is buying him off.
No free tickets for AEG’s BFF Perry?
Perry’s busy talking on the phone with Stevie Kaufman about her Mayoral campaign ambitions and how to contain her scandal(s). Let the cover up begin.
The list of fat cats/developers/unionistas/etc that are buying off the mayor is probably a mile long. Just think people — how much is he paid, like 180k or so? And he’s got a house where his wife or ex-wife & children live, plus her support, plus how many children? And his tastes for expensive suits and nights on the town, all for 180K? And keeping Lu happy, plus probably other whores on a side. All for the paltry 180K/year, don’t make me laugh.
Umm. I think the mayor makes well over $200K
That’s 2 great stories from Fox 11 which is giving me hope there are reporters who want to go after the truth. This story is getting full traction because we want answers. Schwada is waiting for the Mayor’s disclosure list and you can bet idiot Szabo is stonewalling and covering crap up. What about all the city council morons who attend Dodger games for FREE. Schwada should go all out and investigate the freebies the clowncil idiots get. Its a known fact the Lakers do not like the Mayor especially Kobe.
And even more Laker Fans hate the Mayor. He’s like a dead skunk in the middle of garden party. Everyone stares in annoyance at the damn skunk but no one wants to get close to enough to wrestle the dead body into a trash bag. Afterall, who wants to get all that stink on themselves?
Gr-r-r-r-e-a-t, Anonymous 7:31 a.m.!
If I were an evil feline I’d say a p-u-u-u-r-r-fect analogy!
Even we dumb canines don’t go near dead sckunks.
G.
Let`s not forget Schwada is a veteran City Hall and local politics reporter, having worked for the Herald Examiner. He knows how to get to a story and not let go. Stay tuned.
Tony has no shame, decency and respect for the public`s intelligence claiming he attends the Lakers games under ” his official capacity “
Do you all see how desperate the Failure of a Mayor is? Never ever in this city has a Mayor invaded every press conference even though he’s not invited. You would never see Hahn intrude on people’s press conferences. Hahn allowed every city dept. to have their moment. Not this clown of a Mayor. Many times I’ve heard people whisper “what is he doing here?” Many think he actually hurts being there because he doesn’t know how to speak. Sadly, bimbo Janice Hahn does what the Mayor does and intrudes on events and press conferences for her political campaign. Its beyond shameful. When the Mayor walks into a place you can loudly hear the moans and groans. We should do a poll survey on his job performance and put it out to the media. I bet it is well under 15%
Weekly is reporting Fox 11 News reported that the giver is indeed Anschutz Entertainment Group, owner of Staples Center and LA Live and a major lobbyist for city favors. The station reported late Thursday that Villaraigosa has received 13 Lakers tickets so far this season, not to mention a separate allotment of a dozen Dodgers tix. I remember the campaign promise the Mayor was saying “Clean City Hall”, Transparency,. Pay to Play etc. All this because he was accusing then Mayor Hahn of violations. Funny how things turn around. Seems the corrupt, unethical, immoral failure of a Mayor is the one who brought corruption inside city hall. What is Richard Alatorre doing inside city hall in the Mayor’s office and how much is he getting paid?
Just got an email asking if I thought the Mayor’s getting those freebies from AEG because he helped get that NFL Stadium right where Tim Leiweke-AEG and Casey Wasserman wanted it right at LA Live. Ummmmm! Wouldn’t that be pay to play??
city hall are all crooks and liars , and taxpayers and so call rate payers are paying for big ears mayor el chicano power from east los angeles i am a latino but this crook takes the tamale is low down crook he dont give a shit what any one thinks of him or belives is how goverment is run in his mind he belives you have done to his home boys wrong the other crook latinos politicians and belives dont worry about next day take what you can today, and take as much as you can this is what we have voted in office a right wing radical politician politician latino that have the same agenda as obama there agenda is to take care of unions and the special interest and take as you can from taxpayes at no cost expence if you dont belive me take a loook on obama is done golfing and big ears mayor lakers game as los angeles is out of money and obama have a dam oil spill that is no sptop it from b p and the word is gerin redy for word war 3my father alway toll me there is nothig free you have to pay for it one way or another from the front or to the back the liberals have made belive americans we are nomber 1 you dont have to work as hard as youre family have we welcome any one to america they are ded wrong and now we are paying for it look what a clowns we have in city hallGOOD HELP US FROM CITY HALL TO WHASHIGTON DC i dont give a shit what obama and all this democracts comunist liberals belive arizona still belongs to the union of the U S A if not get redy for a civil war WHAT HAPPEND TO CHANGE ONLY FOR DEMOCRATS AND LEFTH WING RADICALS AND CROOK MAFIA UNIONS
MV: Please go to school and get spell check on your computer. Your rant in a disaster.
LA Slimes finally got to report on Schwada`s scoop. There are no reporters left of J. Schwada`s caliber and experience. I`m certain John will continue doing fine investigative reporting. We might as well give up on the Slimes. Kudos to Ron for blogging it.
Its odd the stories the LA Slimes decides to put in the print section and the ones they refuse to print but put on their blog. Last week the story of Jamiel Shaw’s killer being released from prison was a story they refused to put in print. Another story was the 9 students arrested for shutting down Wilshire. They were protesting the Dream Act. Slimes posted on blog not print version. Now, I can be wrong but it sure seems as though the stories pertaining to immigration that is not favorable are posted on the blog and not the print version.
This is true how the Los Angeles Times appears to hold stories until forced to write about them. It is a sad commentary on the state of “journalism” at the LA Times. Too many stories are kept on hold because of financial interests of the owners of the Times, including stories unflattering to elected officials that the LA Times itself is lobbying.
The Mayor’s affair was known to the LA Times for a long long time before it was published. The same for other stories too numerous to list.
THe LA Slime story on the Mayor is hilarious and shows his corrupt behavior. Of course they print the story on a Saturday instead of a major day like SUNDAY. Story says Mayor’s office put in for 10,000 prolamations 2007-09. This is the funniest part I read: “”"Lu Parker, sent out tweet she was attending Beyonce concert that night at Staples. It was the same day Villaraigosa announced that the city would not bill Staples’ owner, AEG for the cost of city services provided at the arena’s Michael Jackson memorial. Hours after a mayor’s spokesperson told a Times reporter that Villaraigosa was not attending the Beyonce concert, the mayor’s office put in a rush order for a proclamation for the singer, to be presented by Villaraigosa in person that night.