Harbor Commissioner May Lose Post Over Misuse of Federal Funds

Los Angeles Mayor Richard Riordan may remove Lee Anderson from the Harbor Commission after she pleaded guilty recently to a federal charge involving improper use of government funds.

“We are monitoring the situation and will soon determine what action, if any, we will take regarding (Anderson’s) appointment,” said Jane Galbraith, a Riordan spokeswoman.

Anderson admitted that congressional staff members who worked for her late husband, Rep. Glenn M. Anderson (D-San Pedro), billed the government for expenses they incurred while also working on her son’s campaign in 1992.

She appeared before Magistrate Patrick J. Attridge in U.S. District Court on March 23 after a 30-month investigation.

On two occasions, when they flew from Washington to California during the primary and general election, congressional staff members worked on Evan Anderson Braude’s unsuccessful campaign to succeed his stepfather, said Anderson’s Long Beach attorney, Wayne Kistner. Sources familiar with the investigation said that Lee Anderson directed functions of the congressional office because her husband was in advanced stages of Alzheimer’s disease.

Prosecutors “acknowledged that all (the staff) did participate in official duties, but there were certain days when there were no official duties, but the staff still submitted receipts for hotels and motels,” Kistner said.

The expenses were between $2,000 and $3,400.

Lee Anderson was identified as the target of the federal grand jury investigation during a sentencing hearing in November, 1993, for the congressman’s former Washington administrative assistant, Jeremiah Bresnahan. He pleaded guilty to one felony count of misusing government services and agreed to cooperate with federal officials.

Bresnahan was sentenced to two years probation and a $500 fine on Wednesday in U.S. District Court in Washington.

Anderson will be sentenced June 12 for the misdemeanor offense. She faces a maximum $5,000 fine for the misdemeanor offense.

Her Washington attorney, Ralph L. Lotkin, said government prosecutors agreed that the charge should not affect Anderson’s position on the harbor board.

Port spokesman Jeff Leong said: “From a legal aspect, there is no problem with her continuing to serve on the Harbor Commission, but like all commissioners, Commissioner Anderson serves at the discretion of the mayor.”

Times staff writer Ted Johnson contributed to this story.