Croton Lied, Bradley Testifies in Hearing

Los Angeles Mayor Tom Bradley testified under oath Tuesday that he moved to fire Fred Croton as the head of the city’s Cultural Affairs Department solely because Croton lied about his employment background.

On his job application, Croton said he served as director of the Sharon, Conn., creative arts foundation from 1973 to 1975 at an annual salary of $24,000. “Literally everything in this is a lie,” Bradley said, referring to the job claim.

Bradley told reporters after the hearing that his office’s recently completed 18-month investigation showed that Croton was merely a part-time director of the arts foundation, and at a considerably lower rate of pay.

Politics Denied

The mayor added that there was “no basis whatsoever” for Croton’s assertions that he wants Croton out for political reasons. Croton has conceded that he may have offended Bradley supporters with his abrasive management style.

Although Bradley testified that he first learned about the Sharon allegations last year, documents filed in support of the firing showed that his office was alerted to them much earlier. A 1982 letter from Bradley supporter Marjorie Fasman suggested that Croton’s Connecticut work history be investigated.

Croton has said that any job history discrepancies are not the issue, that Bradley instead has wanted to remove him for other reasons for several years. At the same time, Croton has stood by his claims concerning the Sharon job.

Bradley’s testimony marked the first time he has spoken publicly in detail about the allegations against Croton since his move to fire the general manager was disclosed last Friday in The Times. In addition to the falsification charges, Bradley has accused Croton of insubordination for failing last week to vacate his office. Croton finally gave in to the mayor’s demand Monday and is now on a paid leave of absence from his $58,756 post, pending City Council action on the firing proposal.

The Civil Service hearing, the first of several sessions that will be held over the next two weeks, focused entirely on Croton’s allegedly faulty job application. Attempts by Croton attorney Richard Grey to expand the scope to include political considerations and job performance were ruled out of order by hearing officer Mark Burstein.

Grey’s and Croton’s main strategy is to show that for years Croton has become a political liability and that the mayor was searching for any legal way to drive Croton from office. Bradley denied those charges Tuesday, saying that his only reason to fire Croton was the job application discrepancies.

But documents on file with the Civil Service Commission showed that for more than two years Bradley has been deeply concerned about Croton’s handling of the Cultural Affairs Department.

The mayor showed his concern in September, 1985, after Bullock’s department stores withdrew its support from a city arts program after a flap between the Los Angeles Municipal Art Gallery Associates and Croton. Bradley wrote the head of the group, “The management problem in the Cultural Affairs Department is particularly vexing because our Civil Service laws place severe constraints on what actions I might take to correct it.”

Grey was able to bring out in the mayor’s testimony that over the last six years Bradley received numerous letters accusing Croton of lying about his background. Included in those letters was one sent in July, 1982, from Bradley supporter Fasman, a longtime Croton critic and founding member of the Museum of Contemporary Art. In the letter, Fasman questioned the general manager’s claims concerning the Connecticut job.

Bradley testified that he does not recall Fasman’s letter.

Bradley said that when he was considering Croton for the job as general manager in 1980, Croton’s statement that he had been the director of the Sharon arts foundation convinced the mayor that he was the most qualified candidate.

“The three finalists who were under consideration for appointment were very close in terms of their stated backgrounds . . .,” Bradley said. “The fact that there was an indication (on Croton’s application) of year-round full-time service as an administrator with Sharon Arts Foundation was (experience) that neither of the other two candidates possessed.”

Bradley said it was not until February, 1986--five years after Croton became general manager--that Samuel Sperling, a longtime City Hall critic, informed the mayor’s office that Croton may have exaggerated his work experience in Sharon.

After a joint investigation by the Personnel Department and the city attorney, Bradley said he concluded that Croton had lied on his application. Convincing him even further, the mayor said, was Croton’s refusal to substantiate his employment claims.

“There was sufficient opportunity for him to rebut,” Bradley said. “He failed to do so.”

Bradley also defended the proposed firing as something that is very common within the city, although Croton could become the first general manager to be fired in the mayor’s 14 years in office.

Bradley said: “We have fired many people from city employment who have lied on their employment applications. The credibility of our entire Civil Service procedures rests on truth and honesty in filling out that application.

“To overlook that when it comes to light would, I think, be a devastating thing to occur.”