The Friends of Tom Bradley (Cont.)

Like virtue, friendship usually is its own reward--unless your friend is Los Angeles Mayor Tom Bradley. In that case, it now appears, camaraderie sometimes can have other compensations.

As The Times reported Saturday, the latest addition to the lengthening list of people found to have benefited materially from Bradley’s friendship is Bishop H. H. Brookins of the African Methodist Episcopal Church. A prominent black clergyman and longtime political supporter of the mayor, Brookins led his denomination’s Los Angeles congregations from 1976 through 1984.

In the early 1980s, the bishop obtained $336,000 in federal anti-poverty funds administered by the city’s Community Development Department (CDD). Officials thought that they were making a loan to renovate a church-owned building that would house job-training programs for South Los Angeles’ poor. In fact, Brookins himself secretly owned the Crenshaw district complex, which currently is valued at approximately $1 million. He also appropriated $30,000 of the federal funds to pay off an unspecified “personal obligation.” When that diversion was discovered by CDD officials, they failed to report it and even advised the bishop on how to return the money without attracting the notice of auditors.

Similarly, when questions about the matter arose later, CDD officials say that they were pressured to help Brookins out of his difficulties by William Elkins, the mayor’s longtime friend and special assistant. Elkins’ own relationship with the mayor was instrumental in obtaining him a seat on the board of directors of Columbia Savings and Loan, which is owned by Bradley friends Abraham and Thomas Spiegel. Elkins denies he ever intervened on Brookins’ behalf. And, for his part, the mayor has said he knew nothing of the Brookins case and has forbidden his staff to speak in his name without his express permission.

Ultimately, the bishop repaid the $336,000 loan, though the city forgave him $50,000 in back interest. Moreover, the CDD arranged that forgiveness in such a way as to conceal it from City Council scrutiny.

The district attorney’s office recently dropped its criminal investigation of Brookins’ conduct because the statute of limitations for fraud and embezzlement charges has elapsed. However, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development has referred the bishop’s case to the Office of the Inspector General to see whether an investigation into misuse of federal funds is warranted. Bradley himself currently is being investigated by a federal grand jury probing possible violations of public corruption and securities laws.

It all amounts to a dreary and dispiriting portrait of civic ethics in the waning Bradley years. It is all too clear that the mayor and his friends--such as Brookins, Elkins, banker Henry Hwang, businessman Allen Alevy and public relations consultant Mary Anne Singer--have found a way to make friendship not only pleasant but also profitable.