Council Asks Hahn to Sue Africa Unit : City Hall: Frustrated lawmakers urge the city attorney to go after about $260,000 unaccounted for after task force chief Juanita St. John declines to say how it was spent.

Frustrated by its inability to recover nearly $260,000 in grants to the troubled Task Force for Africa/Los Angeles Relations, the City Council voted overwhelmingly Wednesday to ask City Atty. James K. Hahn to take any legal action necessary to recover the missing money.

The 12-1 vote was the latest step in an escalating effort by the council to find out what happened to city grants awarded to the Task Force, a nonprofit organization largely funded by the city and headed by Mayor Tom Bradley’s business partner, Juanita St. John.

Despite being subpoenaed by both the city controller and the council to produce financial records detailing how the funds were spent, St. John has refused to divulge the fate of the money.

In an unusual showdown with the council in public hearings held two weeks ago, St. John repeatedly claimed her rights against self-incrimination under the Fifth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, refusing to answer questions about her involvement with the task force. Earlier, she refused to turn over financial records subpoenaed by City Controller Rick Tuttle and is now facing prosecution on a misdemeanor charge of failing to comply with that request.

“We’ve had a hell of a time getting information,” said Councilman Zev Yaroslavsky, who urged his colleagues to vote in favor of seeking legal action. “I don’t see that we have much of a choice unless we want to write off a couple hundred grand. I’m not prepared to do that.”

But Councilman Robert Farrell, a longtime booster of the task force and a current member of its executive committee, called the council’s action a “witch hunt” to locate a “deep pocket” from which the funds may be recovered.

Farrell said he believes that any lawsuit should be delayed until investigators determine whether St. John, the organization’s executive director, was solely responsible for the group’s financial affairs, or if members of the board could also face liability. In an interview after the vote, Farrell said he did not feel that he or other members of the executive committee should be held liable for the missing funds.

Deputy City Atty. Ron Tuller told the council that his office is researching the issue to determine who could be held liable. Tuller said the city’s contract was with the task force, so any legal action would almost certainly name the group as a defendant.

“There might also be a cause of action against the members of the board of directors,” Tuller said. “We’re still looking into it.”

Among the board members facing potential liability is Bradley. The mayor told investigators from the city attorney’s office that he has been a member of the task force board of directors.

It was at Bradley’s urging that the council appropriated nearly $400,000 over four years to finance the task force, which was founded to explore trade opportunities between African and Los Angeles businesses.

An audit by Tuttle showed that St. John had written $178,812 worth of task force checks to herself or to “cash” and that she commingled task force funds with her personal bank accounts and those of her family members.

Los Angeles police and the major fraud unit of the district attorney’s office are conducting a criminal investigation of possible misuse of public funds focusing on the alleged commingling of task force and personal money.

St. John, who is a partner with Bradley in a Riverside County real estate venture, has told city investigators that she has documentation to show how the funds were spent, but has consistently failed to surrender it.