Mayor’s Office Erred, Transit Agency Says
The Urban Mass Transit Authority on Tuesday said that Mayor Tom Bradley’s office had failed to follow procedures in a series of transactions of federal funds it funneled through Far East National Bank.
The bank is at the heart of a conflict-of-interest investigation of Bradley by the city attorney.
The transactions involved $1.4 million in grants from the transit agency to the city of Los Angeles in 1987. The funds were left in a non-interest-bearing account at Far East for several months, costing the city about $12,000.
The transit agency also determined that the mayor’s office erred in having only one official sign the letter of credit, when two are required. The bank failed to follow guidelines when it released the funds without proper signatures.
UMTA spokesman Richard Centner said that since the agency lost no money, it is taking no official action against the city. But the UMTA canceled the city’s letter of credit. “We want to get the message across to them to be more careful,” he said.
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