Authority Will Honor Airport Contract With Paradies Shops : Burbank: News and gift concessionaire’s owner was convicted of felony mail fraud and conspiracy in January.

Despite objections from at least one of its commissioners, the Burbank Airport authority Monday decided against reconsidering a contract awarded to an Atlanta-based concessionaire that has been convicted of felony mail fraud and conspiracy.

A motion by Commissioner Chris Holden to review the issue was struck down by a 5-1 vote after his colleagues concluded that federal convictions in January would not hinder the Paradies Shops’ ability to operate four news and gift stores at Burbank. The authority granted the concession last December, when the company was already under indictment.

“I did vote at the time with the knowledge that a legal action was put in progress. But this firm . . . bid under the same rules and guidelines as the others,” said Commissioner Brian Bowman.

He predicted that the company would prosper at Burbank in spite of its convictions and said he was not prepared to reverse his stand in favor of the Paradies Shops, due to start business at Burbank on April 1.

However, Holden insisted he had not been informed of any legal proceedings against the firm and its owner, Daniel M. Paradies, who was convicted Jan. 22 of 83 counts of mail fraud and one count of conspiracy. In a politically explosive trial in Atlanta, a jury found Paradies guilty for his role in a scheme to funnel more than $1 million in illegal payoffs to a prominent Atlanta official who later served on the city airport commission.

“It was not my understanding that those indictments were pending. . . . For me personally, that would impact on my vote,” said Holden, who is also a member of the Pasadena City Council. “It’s very important that the integrity of everything . . . be held high and above reproach.”

He noted that the second-place bidder, the British concern W. H. Smith, had submitted a comparable offer to the Paradies Shops that could have served as a good alternative. Both vendors guaranteed the airport at least $2.4 million in rent over a five-year period.

Bill Paparian, a fellow commissioner and Pasadena councilman who was not present at Monday’s meeting, also took exception to the authority’s decision.

“Those are fair questions that should be addressed,” said Paparian, adding that he, too, had not been briefed by airport staff on any litigation against Paradies during the bidding process.

“It tears at the whole fabric of the integrity of governance. It’s not an indictment anymore; it’s a conviction. . . . Can a zebra change its stripes?”

Paparian called on the authority to revive the issue because the substance of Paradies’ convictions--that he conspired to bribe Atlanta officials who voted on airport matters--could cast a shadow on how the vendor selection process at Burbank was conducted.

But some authority members pointed out that the contract had already been signed by both parties. “You can’t turn back the clock,” Commissioner John Crowley said.

According to airport staff, the agreement with the Paradies Shops--one of the nation’s largest airport news and gift concession agents--does not allow the authority to sever ties solely on grounds of criminal convictions. Company executives say they anticipate no difficulty in meeting their obligations at Burbank.

In addition to some of its own members, the authority has been pressured by Assemblyman Richard Polanco (D-Los Angeles) to end its relationship with the Paradies Shops, as Denver International Airport is doing. In a letter prompted by a complaint from one of Paradies’ rival bidders for the Burbank concession, Polanco said canceling the contract would be “a prudent public-interest decision.”

But authority President Robert W. Garcin wrote back: “(T)here does not appear to be a compelling reason for the authority to take the actions you suggest. . . . In my opinion it would not be prudent to expose the authority to significant damages by breaking the contract without sufficient cause.”

In other action relating to the Paradies Shops agreement, commissioners asked staff to review efforts aimed at awarding more contracts to local minority and women-owned businesses to comply with federal law. The authority has received complaints over Paradies’ plans to bring in a minority firm from Indiana to fulfill its requirement.

Also Monday, airport engineer Dan Feger outlined the extent of damage suffered by the airport in the Northridge earthquake.

He said the airport has spent $192,000 so far in repairs, including replacing broken glass and ceiling tiles in the facility’s two terminals and shoring up its parking structure. Feger estimated that an additional $80,000 would be necessary to bring the parking structure back up to pre-earthquake strength. The runways and taxiways suffered virtually no damage, he said.