Jerome (Jerry) Nathanson; Headed California Athletic Commission

Jerome (Jerry) Nathanson, 83, who served for a decade on the California Athletic Commission. Nathanson moved his young family from Chicago to California in 1946, opening a self-service market in Palm Springs. Active in local and state politics, he served on the Palm Springs City Council from 1950 through 1958. He became a successful realtor in the Inland Empire and owned apartment buildings in Los Angeles. Nathanson was named to the Athletic Commission in 1983 by former Gov. Edmund G. (Jerry) Brown Jr. and served repeated terms as its chairman. His son, Mark L. Nathanson of the California Coastal Commission, pleaded guilty June 9, 1993, to racketeering and tax evasion in the political corruption case that brought down state Sen. Alan Robbins. The son is now serving a four-year, nine-month sentence. The elder Nathanson in his later years worked for Los Angeles County’s senior citizens services department. On Wednesday in Los Angeles of heart problems.