Croton Resigns One Hour Before Council Was to Meet

Fred Croton resigned his post today as the city’s Cultural Affairs Department general manager, one hour before the City Council was scheduled to consider firing him.

Croton, 53, submitted his resignation to Mayor Tom Bradley nearly four weeks after Bradley placed him on a paid leave of absence from his $58,725-a-year post.

“I hereby resign my position as general manager, Cultural Affairs Department, City of Los Angeles,” Croton said in a one-line letter to Bradley.

Croton could not be reached for comment.

Councilwoman Joy Picus said today that she encouraged Croton to resign during a private meeting in her office Tuesday. She said Croton, whom she described as a friend, had also been encouraged to quit by city personnel officials.

“I felt it was best for the city,” Picus said of Croton’s resignation. “It took him a while to get used to the idea. It wasn’t my idea and it wasn’t his either.”

Bradley last month ordered Croton to leave his office after an 18-month investigation disclosed that Croton had lied on his 1980 job application. At issue was whether Croton had, as he had claimed, served as full-time director of a creative arts foundation in Sharon, Conn., during the early 1970s.

In the last week, a Civil Service hearing examiner and the Civil Service Commission concluded that Croton had played only a minor role in the Connecticut foundation and did not receive the $24,000 annual salary that he claimed on his application.