State Sues St. John for Failure to File Report on Finances

The state attorney general’s office on Thursday sued Juanita St. John, the head of a beleaguered Los Angeles-Africa trade task force, for refusing to publicly disclose how the nonprofit, city-funded corporation has spent hundreds of thousands of dollars.

The unusual lawsuit charges that St. John and her Task Force for Africa-Los Angeles Relations are four years delinquent in filing state-mandated reports detailing the group’s finances. It is the latest in a series of investigations and legal troubles to beset Mayor Tom Bradley’s scandal-plagued pet project.

Deputy Atty. Gen. James Cordi, who filed the suit after several months of discussions with St. John and her lawyers, said the action is “pretty unusual . . . most charitable organizations usually comply (with requests for financial records) after being warned.”

The Los Angeles County district attorney and the Los Angeles Police Department are investigating St. John, a Bradley business associate, who headed the task force at a time when the mayor was pushing to secure about $400,000 in city funds for the group. The task force was set up in 1982 to promote trade and cultural ties between Los Angeles and African countries.

One focus of the probe is to determine if St. John, who allegedly commingled task force funds in family checking accounts, used any of the money to bail herself out of personal financial problems, including two bankruptcies she filed since 1986.

The suit, filed in Los Angeles Superior Court, seeks an accounting--under penalty of perjury--of the task force’s operations since 1985, including the total amount of St. John’s salary and the names of corporate directors who should have been supervising the group’s financial affairs. City auditors and investigators have been unable to determine how much money she was entitled to take from the task force.

The suit also calls for repayment of any funds St. John or others may have used improperly.

Vicki Podberesky, one of St. John’s lawyers, said the lawsuit was “not unexpected” and her client would have no comment. She stressed that St. John has done nothing illegal and would be able to explain how the funds were used.

She also said that records sought by the state are being assembled and checked by an accountant to ensure they contain no errors.

City auditors have said that the task force, which figured prominently in the controversy surrounding Bradley’s finances, owes the city more than $260,000 and that St. John failed to account for nearly $180,000 she personally withdrew from the group’s accounts.

The city attorney is also considering suing St. John and the task force to recover the money.

While the information sought by the state is routinely filed by most nonprofit groups, St. John and her lawyers have repeatedly refused to file the crucial documents. Last month, St. John invoked the 5th Amendment more than 60 times when she was subpoenaed before a City Council committee that wanted an explanation of where the tax money went.

The 59-year-old San Marino resident also faces a criminal trial Dec. 21 on a misdemeanor charge of violating a city controller’s subpoena for the records.

The attorney general, who supervises nonprofit groups, also named four other task force officials in the suit: San Gabriel Valley business executive Richard Parsons, Los Angeles newspaper publisher C.Z. Wilson, retired Los Angeles businessman Hans Ries and Los Angeles attorney Howard Manning, all of whom were listed at one time as officers of the task force in state records. All four have told The Times they had had no involvement with the task force in recent years, or had no responsibility for the group’s financial affairs.

Cordi, of the attorney general’s office, indicated he may add other names to the suit.

Bradley, who helped create the task force, regularly attended meetings and evaluated St. John for pay raises, has told investigators that he was a task force board member. But aides said he misspoke and is merely a member of the group’s advisory board.

Cordi said he has seen no evidence indicating that the mayor should be held personally liable for any misuse of task force funds.