Report Clears Hamilton but His Judgment Is Questioned

Los Angeles City Planning Director Calvin S. Hamilton exercised questionable judgment but did not violate the law in using his position to promote a private international trade and tourism firm he organized, financed and headed, state Atty. Gen. John Van de Kamp said in a report released Wednesday.

The report, based on an eight-month criminal investigation, confirmed that Hamilton:

- Used his city staff and equipment to prepare pamphlets and materials explaining the functions and goals of TRAICE, the private nonprofit firm.

- Solicited a developer with pending business before city planners and obtained free office space in downtown Los Angeles’ Oviatt Building to use as temporary headquarters for TRAICE.

- Wrote letters on city stationery seeking donations from developers for the firm.

- Encouraged developers to include facilities that could be used by TRAICE information centers in their commercial developments.

No Criminal Action

But the attorney general, in a six-page summary of the long probe, said Hamilton’s involvement with the firm, particularly his “financial entanglement” with the organization, did not “appear to have risen to the point of actionable criminality.”

“No evidence uncovered from any source revealed that the Hamiltons (Hamilton’s wife, Glenda, was a TRAICE vice president) profited in any way from their association with TRAICE,” the report said.

Hamilton spent an “insignificant” amount of city time personally promoting TRAICE and the “propriety or impropriety (of his activities) cannot be clearly established,” the report said.

The report concluded that no criminal prosecution is warranted.

“Obviously I am relieved that no further action will be taken,” Hamilton said. “Now I can do my professional job without this issue hanging over me.

“I have also learned a lesson, that what seems appropriate to me may not have been appropriate from a legal point of view. So I will be extremely careful in my outside activities in the future.”

Hamilton’s involvement in TRAICE was first disclosed by The Times in articles that led to investigations by the city attorney, a special task force created by Mayor Tom Bradley and by city Controller James K. Hahn who charged that Hamilton “ripped off” the city for nearly $10,000, most of it in staff time--a total of 624 man-hours.

The city task force accused Hamilton of using the prestige and power of his office to help a private organization, and Ira Reiner, who then was city attorney, said he would prosecute Hamilton on misdemeanor charges.

Acknowledging “errors in judgment” and a conflict resulting from having an investment in a firm he was promoting as planning director, Hamilton took a six-week unpaid leave of absence as punishment.

Reiner, explaining that felony violations could be involved, referred the case to then-Dist. Atty. Robert H. Philibosian for possible prosecution on the more serious charges.

The case then became the center of a political dispute between the two prosecutors who were opponents in the race for district attorney, and Philibosian turned it over to the attorney general’s office for investigation.

The report released Wednesday was the result of that investigation into possible conflict of interest and misappropriation of public funds.

“We looked at every possible statute under which we could prosecute him,” said Patra Woolum, a deputy attorney general who headed the state’s investigation. “We considered both misdemeanors and felonies but couldn’t come up with a thing.”