Hahn to Conduct Probe Into Harbor Officials’ Dealings

Los Angeles City Atty.-elect James K. Hahn, who takes office Monday, will conduct an inquiry to determine whether a veteran Los Angeles Harbor commissioner illegally employed city resources for his personal use, a city councilwoman said Tuesday.

The probe also will review the conduct of a second harbor commissioner, who has been criticized by city officials for potential conflicts of interest in his private law firm’s representation of clients doing business in the port, City Councilwoman Joan Milke Flores said.

Flores, whose district includes the harbor, requested the investigation Tuesday in a letter to Hahn, now serving his final days as city controller. Flores’ office sent the letter after contacting Hahn’s office to see whether he would be receptive to the idea, which he was.

A top aide to Hahn, Charles Fuentes, confirmed that the new city attorney will comply with Flores’ request.

In urging an investigation, Flores cited articles this week in The Times detailing the controversial behavior of harbor commissioners Jun Mori, the private attorney with harbor clients, and Frederic A. Heim, who employed city resources for personal use.

Heim and Hahn have clashed over the commissioner’s use of public money to entertain other city officials. Hahn has called Heim the “entertainment commissioner.” Heim has called Hahn a “pipsqueak controller.”

Flores said the newspaper disclosures “tarnish this city’s image. . . . At the very least, I believe such actions (by the two commissioners) reflect breaches of the public trust.”

Tending to Business

The Times reported, for example, that Heim, the harbor commission’s president, routinely has had commission secretaries type letters unrelated to port business on official stationary and mail them at city expense. Some of the letters were sent to other government agencies seeking action on personal matters, such as a weed abatement problem at his private business.

In addition, The Times reported that Heim once had a major shipping line, overseen by the commission, deliver for free some small appliances to relatives in Brazil. On another occasion, he had a top port executive locate through a harbor business a particular car his business partner wanted to buy.

As for Mori, he has come under fire by, among others, the chief city attorney assigned to the harbor. In interviews with The Times and in confidential reports to his superiors, Senior Assistant City Atty. Winston Tyler has complained of Mori’s insensitivity to city conflict of interest rules, as demonstrated by the commissioner’s participation in matters that could financially affect him and his clients.

Last-Minute Disclosure

In 1983, for example, Mori did not disclose until the last minute that his law firm had been attempting to merge with a law firm he backed for a lucrative city contract. He also intervened on behalf of an auto importing company that was unhappy with its treatment by port managers and was also one of Mori’s firm’s clients.

The district attorney’s office investigated the auto importing case and no criminal charges were filed.

Mori and Heim have denied any wrongdoing and retain the support of Mayor Tom Bradley, who appointed them to the five-member board, which has authority over port finances and operations. Mori is expected to be reappointed when his term expires June 30. Mori and Heim were unavailable for comment Tuesday.