Davis Drops Aide Linked to 2 Porno Convictions

The campaign finance chairman for Democratic state controller candidate Gray Davis has been forced from his post because of recent revelations that he was convicted in the mid-1970s on federal and state obscenity charges.

Eugene La Pietra, a millionaire Hollywood discotheque owner and prominent gay activist and fund-raiser, notified Davis earlier this week that he was resigning from his campaign post. La Pietra, who is also running for a vacant seat on the West Hollywood City Council, said he was resigning as Davis’ finance chairman “because of the demands of my campaign.”

Although Davis could not be reached for comment, his campaign manager, Noel Gould, said Thursday that the 43rd District assemblyman had dropped La Pietra from his campaign committee before the resignation letter arrived. “We have severed our relationship with Mr. La Pietra,” Gould said tersely.

Gould said Davis has also withdrawn his endorsement for La Pietra in the West Hollywood council race.

La Pietra is one of three candidates vying for a West Hollywood council seat vacated last May by Valerie Terrigno, who was convicted on federal embezzlement charges. The other candidates are Abbe Land, a West Hollywood planning commissioner, and Stephen D. Michael, a furniture dealer.

1974 Conviction

After recent disclosures by Land and articles in The Times’ Westside section, La Pietra acknowledged a 1974 federal felony conviction for shipping an obscene film through the mail and a 1971 state misdemeanor conviction for selling another pornographic film to an undercover Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputy. In both cases, according to court files obtained by The Times, La Pietra was placed on probation.

La Pietra has also acknowledged that between 1971 and 1974 he owned two adult book stores and a film arcade in southeast Los Angeles County and owned an interest in a mail-order adult film business. He said he has since sold his adult businesses and now runs Circus Discotheque, a popular dance club in Hollywood.

According to Gould, La Pietra was only an honorary finance chairman and had no significant involvement in raising funds for Davis’ campaign. But once Davis’ campaign staff learned about La Pietra’s criminal history, Gould said, they moved quickly and angrily to put some distance between the campaign and La Pietra.

“Everyone in state politics knows that Gray Davis does his own fund raising,” Gould said. “Mr. La Pietra asked for this figurehead title and later for Gray’s endorsement (in the West Hollywood race). At no time were we told of the events recently disclosed by The Times. But when we became aware of those events, we were very disturbed and took the appropriate action.”

State campaign finance records indicate that La Pietra donated $15,000 to Davis in the past year, including two $5,000 contributions in May. Campaign records also show that the Progressive American Coalition, a political action committee headed by La Pietra, contributed another $5,000 to Davis.

Davis’ opponent in the state controller’s race, state Sen. William Campbell (R-Hacienda Heights), suggested Thursday that Davis should return La Pietra’s campaign contributions. “I’m not going to make this a campaign issue, but I think there are questions Gray Davis needs to answer,” Campbell said. “Did any of this money come from the pornography industry? If it did, is it not incumbent on Mr. Davis to disassociate himself from those funds?”

Gould replied by criticizing Campbell for sponsoring past legislation that aided convicted fireworks magnate W. Patrick Moriarty. “Where does Mr. Campbell get off by attacking us?” Gould asked. “He spent years trying to ram through legislation for his good friend and convicted felon, Patrick Moriarty. He was willing to put the children of this state at risk to make his friend millions of dollars.”

Gould’s reference was apparently to a bill authored by Campbell that would have prohibited local governments from banning “safe-and-sane” fireworks such as those manufactured by Moriarty’s company. The bill was approved by the Legislature in 1982 but vetoed by then-Gov. Edmund G. Brown Jr.

‘Was a Key Post’

Campbell also scoffed at Gould’s assertion that La Pietra’s campaign position was only an honorary post. “To my understanding, this was a key post,” Campbell said. “Finance chairman is certainly important in any campaign. I’m sure they had a close relationship.”

Besides dropping La Pietra as his finance chairman, Davis also joined state Sen. Herschel Rosenthal (D-Los Angeles) in withdrawing endorsements for La Pietra’s West Hollywood council campaign.

“We hereby withdraw our endorsements of your candidacy for West Hollywood City Council and cease any relationship between our campaigns,” the two legislators said in a telegram sent to La Pietra on Wednesday. “Please do not use our names for purposes of endorsements or the signing of quotes in support of your candidacy.”

From his campaign headquarters, La Pietra tried to minimize his loss of the endorsements, insisting that in the West Hollywood race, he was still gaining momentum. “I think there’s a perception that our support is increasing,” he said.

But Parke Skelton, campaign manager for Land, La Pietra’s strongest opponent, said the withdrawn endorsements show momentum in the opposite direction.