Candidate Convicted of Theft While a Police Officer : Santa Clarita: Lee Schramling says the 1985 conviction was removed from his record.

A candidate for the Santa Clarita City Council was convicted seven years ago of stealing a purse that contained cocaine when he was a police officer, an investigation by an unnamed political opponent revealed Friday.

Lee Schramling was convicted in 1985 after being fired from the Hawthorne Police Department, which initiated a narcotics sting operation that resulted in the conviction, the investigation showed. Schramling confirmed the account.

Now a marketing consultant, Schramling, 49, had the 1985 conviction expunged from his record after completing his sentence, payment of a $1,650 fine and three years probation, Schramling said.

The conviction surfaced this week after an opponent hired a private investigator to research Schramling’s background. The investigator, who asked not to be identified, refused to name the person who hired him.

“We have some pretty sick people in this city if they will go to these lengths to ruin somebody,” Schramling said.

Schramling is one of 16 candidates for a council seat in Tuesday’s election. He is one of only two candidates endorsed by members of a citizens group that placed a slow-growth measure on Tuesday’s ballot.

On Aug. 1, 1983, Schramling found a purse containing cocaine that had been left near a public telephone at a Hawthorne shopping center. Unknown to him, the purse had been planted by the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department. The Hawthorne police chief requested the sheriff’s investigation because of anonymous reports alleging Schramling had stolen drugs confiscated by narcotics officers, a Hawthorne police captain said Friday.

Schramling was arrested after failing to turn in the purse that evening before going off duty. A small amount of marijuana was then found in his locker and he was also convicted of marijuana possession.

He said Friday he had intended to book the cocaine into evidence at the station the next morning. The marijuana was planted, he said. He said he was singled out by the Police Department because he was dating a woman who was also dating one of his superiors.

Leaders of the group backing the slow-growth initiative said they knew last year of Schramling’s conviction and believe in his innocence.

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