THE MAYOR UNDER FIRE : What They Said

HAHN, in a commentary attached to his report on Bradley:

The most serious allegations against the mayor, within the prosecutorial purview of the city attorney’s office, involve his employment as a paid adviser to Far East National Bank and his communications with other subordinate city officials concerning public monies deposited in Far East National Bank. While insufficient evidence of violations of law on the part of the mayor was found, these allegations remain most troubling. . . . The mayor clearly stepped into that gray area of the law between factual innocence and a chargeable offense.

BRADLEY, in his televised speech Wednesday:

I am gratified that the city attorney cut through the misperceptions and determined that no legal violation of conflict of interest took place. I never doubted that the inquiry would reach this conclusion. Nevertheless, the last six months have been the most difficult of my life. At times I have been angry and hurt. But I have found solace in the support and confidence of those who have watched me build a reputation for honesty and integrity throughout my public career, and I appreciate that support. I understand that, as a public official, I open myself to intense scrutiny. As far as I am concerned, this matter is now behind us.

HAHN, on the city treasurer’s office:

Evidence of the treasurer’s office’s general operation and some of its claimed policies show an operation, in some respects, in poor working order: co-workers who hate one another operating for years in close proximity while performing interrelated functions; obtaining competitive bid and non-negotiation policies memorialized in writing but in many instances disregarded; the complicity of one or more of treasurer’s office officials in placing funds without competitive bids; the doctoring of the bid sheet by adding ostensible competitive bids after the fact; the attempt to conceal and suppress evidence by the application of white-out and black ink on the bid sheet and a pattern of false and evasive statements to investigators, done at the direction of and/or acquiescence of the department head, Treasurer (Leonard) Rittenberg.

BRADLEY, on Hahn’s lawsuit against him:

The city attorney has decided to seek civil fines for errors made on my Statements of Economic Interests. These statements are forms on which public officials are required to disclose their investments. I first of all want the people to know that I brought these errors to the city attorney’s attention. . . . I also want the people to know how these technical errors came about. I insisted that I prepare these forms on my own. I thought I could handle the complicated task. I was wrong. The amendments demonstrate that I have not attempted to conceal any of my investments; in fact, I often listed investments that the law did not require me to report. The errors I made were not deliberate; they show only that I am not an accountant, and that I shouldn’t have tried to be one.

Hahn’s report contained numerous quotations from Bradley and other principals interviewed in the investigation. A sampling:

Far East Chairman HENRY HWANG’S reaction when he learned, after Bradley no longer was on the payroll, that the city was not going to renew its $1-million deposit last March.

So it’s like it come all of a sudden. I said, “What happened just because I didn’t pay him?” No wait, I’m joking on this one. . . . Don’t quote me on that one.

BRADLEY, on his account of when and why he resigned as paid adviser to Far East:

I had a conversation with (bank Chairman Henry Hwang) toward the end of December when I said to him, “I don’t think that our relationship has been productive. I’ve not been able to do anything for you and I think we have to terminate the relationship.” And he said, “It’s true, you haven’t done anything for us and I think that it would be well for us to terminate,” and we did.

City Treasurer LEONARD RITTENBERG, on why there were no time notations on after-the-fact “bids” gathered from other banks after Far East had been given $2 million in city deposits March 22:

Again, I told you, it’s obvious why they didn’t put the times down. I mean, if they made a time deposit at 8:05 or 8:10 or 8:15 in the morning, and a second one at 9:00 and then recorded them at 10:00 or 11:00, that would be apparently very obvious that what they did was wrong, so they didn’t leave them out and I did not request them to put the times in nor leave them out.

WILLIAM HOSS, cash management officer for the treasurer, on who whited-out a reference to the mayor next to Far East’s deposit record:

I don’t remember ever hearing that, what (investment officer) George (Sehlmeyer) is saying that I whited the thing out. He’s telling it wrong, that I whited it out. Which is an outright lie. Because I would never white-out any of his, I have nothing to do with his stuff. He could put anything down there, he could say to Jesus Christ, or somebody else. I have never covered up anything, but he has, I have no reason. It’s his writing.

GEORGE SEHLMEYER, a treasurer’s investment officer, on why he didn’t question a colleague’s doctoring of a bid sheet:

You have to remember my feeling generally has been for a long time I just don’t question. . . . Every time I’ve opened my mouth I’ve had my . . . somebody’s taken my leg off at the hip and shoved it right down my throat and I just got to the point where I said obviously nobody wants to hear about it.

WILLIAM ELKINS, longtime Bradley aide, on why he joined the board of directors of Columbia Savings and Loan 11 years ago.

I received a call from the mayor saying that Abe Spiegel wanted a black on his board and asked him to recommend some appropriate person. Tom said, “Bill, I think it would be good experience for you and you ought to take a look at it,” and my response was that, “Tom, you gotta be out of your mind.”

BRADLEY appeal during televised speech:

My friends, I love this city. I’ve devoted 47 years of my life to serving Los Angeles. I’ve always acted in what I honestly believed to be the best interests of this city. I would never do anything to harm Los Angeles. I would never intentionally take any action to violate the public’s trust. I hope, after all these years, you know the kind of man I am, and the kind of mayor I’ve been. Despite the rumors you’ve read over the last months, what really matters are the conclusions of this full and complete inquiry.

BRADLEY concludes his prepared remarks to reporters:

I now welcome your questions. . . . I regret that I will not be able to comment on private financial matters referred by the city attorney to the SEC.