Dodgers the most frequent donor of free tickets to L.A. Mayor Villaraigosa, his lawyers say

Lawyers for Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa named the Los Angeles Dodgers as the most frequent donor of his free tickets, but they struggled to identify many of the other entities that have let him appear at athletic and cultural events without paying, according to documents released Friday.

The 422 pages of records were assembled as part of Villaraigosa’s effort to show that he was performing official and ceremonial duties while going to concerts, sports events and award shows over the last five years. The mayor says that distinction relieved him from having to report the tickets as gifts under state law.

The records include an e-mail exchange, just a few months after Villaraigosa took office, in which a lobbyist for a prominent downtown developer appears to give advice on how the mayor could cite “official” business as a way to accept the free tickets.

Villaraigosa’s practice of accepting tickets is now the subject of an investigation by the city Ethics Commission and an inquiry by Los Angeles County Dist. Atty. Steve Cooley.

Although they continued to defend Villaraigosa’s ticket acceptance, lawyers for the mayor said for the first time that he might have to reimburse donors for the free tickets he passed on to relatives and friends.

A spreadsheet released by Villaraigosa said he was offered free entry to an estimated 100 sports events, concerts and awards shows, 85 of which he either recalls attending or is shown in photographs as having been at. But it did not show who provided tickets to roughly two dozen concerts and athletic events at such venues as Staples Center, the Nokia Theatre and the Rose Bowl.

“He is all over the city, and sometimes he spends five minutes at a location and sometimes he spends 45 minutes,” Deputy Chief of Staff Matt Szabo said. “And so it is entirely reasonable that he may or may not remember every detail.”

Added Brian Currey, the mayor’s in-house counsel: “The record-keeping, frankly, could have been better” on the donors of the tickets.

The state’s ethics law requires elected officials to report any gift of more than $50 — including the name of the donor — and bars them from accepting gifts of more than $420. That rule does not apply, however, when the official is performing a ceremonial duty, according to officials with the state Fair Political Practices Commission.

The city’s gift law is even stricter, prohibiting officials from accepting gifts of more than $100 from “restricted sources” — companies that do business with City Hall.

Villaraigosa contends that his mere attendance at an event was a component of his official duties as mayor, whether or not he presented an official proclamation or was an invited guest. However, he may have run afoul of laws restricting his girlfriend or family members from receiving free tickets to the same event, Currey said.

“If it’s determined that the mayor needs to reimburse for guests, then he certainly will do so,” he added.

Currey said Villaraigosa never sought legal counsel from the Ethics Commission on whether tickets should be declared as gifts, choosing instead to rely on a legal opinion provided to the administration of former Mayor James K. Hahn. But Villaraigosa’s records show that his staff did receive advice from a lobbyist for Anschutz Entertainment Group, the company that owns Staples Center, where the Los Angeles Lakers play, and the Nokia Theatre.

In a November 2005 e-mail exchange, lobbyist Chris Modrzejewski requested that the mayor recognize the team’s youth foundation during halftime at a Lakers-Phoenix game. That confused one of Villaraigosa’s aides, who said she thought Modrzejewski was inviting the mayor to the game. She also warned that there was not enough time to prepare an official proclamation.

“For the mayor to accept the tickets he must have an ‘official’ role,” Modrzejewski wrote. “For tomorrow it would be to at half time present a certificate to the Lakers organization for their work in the community. He will present it to either [former Lakers star] Magic Johnson or [team executive] Jeanie Buss depending on availability.”

“I’ll get you some language” for the document, he added.

Modrzejewski had no comment Friday.

That same year, Villaraigosa supported a plan — ultimately approved by the City Council — to provide at least $246 million in tax breaks for a hotel planned for the AEG development known as L.A. Live. AEG shows up in the mayor’s records as the donor of two tickets for Lakers games. Villaraigosa’s records do not show who paid for the mayor to attend some of the concerts held at AEG facilities, including performances by Shakira, Juanes and Tina Turner.

A more frequent donor, according to the report, was the Dodgers, which do business with the city on such matters as transportation and development. The Dodgers provided free entry to 14 of the 15 games attended by the mayor, according to the records. Those tickets were provided even though the mayor’s office already has season tickets, which can be used by city employees as long as they provide reimbursement.

Howard Sunkin, senior vice president of the McCourt Group, which owns the Dodgers, did not respond to calls seeking comment. In an interview earlier this week, Sunkin would not discuss the mayor’s appearances in the McCourt box at Dodger Stadium but said “other politicians” have also sat there.

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences allowed the mayor to go to at least three Oscar shows for free, the records show. Entertainment mogul Jeffrey Katzenberg provided entry to three Lakers games, while “American Idol” welcomed Villaraigosa at two of its season finales.

Records show that as part of his ceremonial duties, Villaraigosa presented proclamations twice to the Mexican pop singer Luis Miguel. He did so at one concert in 2006 and another in 2008. The first certificate declared a day in 2006 “Luis Miguel Day,” while a second in 2008 welcomed him to Los Angeles.

david.zahniser@latimes.com

phil.willon@latimes.com