Bradley Returns $18,000 He Earned as Adviser to Bank

Mayor Tom Bradley on Friday said he returned $18,000 he had earned last year as an adviser to Far East National Bank after discovering that the small downtown bank had received deposits from the city of Los Angeles.

In a letter to bank Chairman Henry Hwang made public Friday, Bradley said: “While I am not legally compelled to return any monies earned as a member of your advisory committee . . . I am voluntarily and immediately returning to FENB the entire sum.”

Bradley said he was unaware that the bank had sought and received city deposits until Tuesday. Deputy Mayor Mike Gage said Bradley first learned of the deposits when Hwang called Bradley regarding a city certificate of deposit that was maturing.

It was not immediately clear how much money the city had on deposit with the bank, and Bradley said he has “no responsibility for city investment or deposit decisions, and I am not routinely informed of the particular investment or deposits decision made by the (city) treasurer.”

In a statement released Friday, the mayor’s office said Bradley “could not keep--and never would have accepted--any funds earned during the period of his advisory relationship with the bank” had he known about the city deposits.

The mayor had included the income on his annual statement of economic interest and has now amended that filing to show the return of the funds, a spokesman said. Bradley resigned from the FENB advisory committee as of Dec. 31, 1988.

Bradley continues to serve as a director of Valley Federal Savings & Loan Assn. The mayor’s office said Valley Federal does not accept city deposits.