Campbell, Aide Amend Reports to Include Gift

Dogged by news stories of unreported gifts from a major campaign contributor, state Sen. William R. Campbell (R-Hacienda Heights) and his top aide have amended their economic interest forms to show a gift of limousine service received during the Republican National Convention last year.

Campbell and aide Jerry Haleva this week amended their forms to show $761 worth of “transportation” supplied by Asbestos Environmental Controls, a New Orleans firm for which Campbell’s office reportedly interceded during its attempts to retain state contracts.

The firm and its owner, Gordon Goldman, are among Campbell’s top political donors, contributing $27,000 during 1987 and 1988.

Investigation to Start

The state’s Fair Political Practices Commission said Monday it would open an investigation after recent published reports said Campbell and Haleva had failed to disclose that Goldman gave them limousine service during the Republican convention last August. Campbell also failed to show the true source of a $5,000 fee paid to him by a New Orleans Jewish organization for a speaking engagement arranged by Goldman.

Campbell and Haleva amended their disclosure forms to show the limousine gift the day after the commission said it would open an investigation.

State Architect Michael J. Bocchicchio Sr. has acknowledged that Haleva contacted his office twice last year at a time when the asbestos-removal consulting firm ran into difficulty with some contracts for work on state buildings.

Bocchicchio said his office had threatened to cancel the contracts because Asbestos Environmental Controls was slow in complying with a new law requiring all asbestos removal firms to register with the state. After a call from Haleva, the office extended a deadline and the firm did register.

That registration, however, expired earlier this month and Bocchicchio’s office has warned the New Orleans firm that its current contracts could be canceled by Monday if the eligibility is not renewed.

Warning Letter

In an unrelated matter, the Fair Political Practices Commission earlier this month issued a warning letter to Haleva for failing to disclose $15,000 on his 1986 statement of economic interest. The money was paid to Haleva in connection with Campbell’s annual women’s conference.

The commission told Haleva he had violated the law by failing to list the income, but it cited “mitigating factors” in its decision to issue a letter of reprimand rather than seek fines.

The mitigating factors were that Haleva had never run afoul of the commission before and that there was “no evidence of intentional concealment,” said the letter, dated June 6.

Haleva received the money for his service as the secretary of Campbell’s Conference on Women, a nonprofit association. Haleva filed an amendment to his economic interest form in 1988 to show the $15,000 just days before to a published report disclosing his income from the conference.

Both Campbell and Haleva have repeatedly declined comment on the most recent allegations about the limousine service and any actions on behalf of Goldman.