State Orders Ex-Mayor to Repay $25,000 Loan From City Agency
The state attorney general’s office has concluded that former Santa Monica Mayor Nathaniel Trives unlawfully borrowed $25,000 from the nonprofit Santa Monica home renovation agency he heads and has directed Trives or the agency’s board to make restitution.
The Neighborhood Resource and Development Corp. board of directors and chief executive officer Trives must repay the loan plus interest, estimated at more than $40,000, or face civil action, said Deputy Atty Gen. James Schwartz.
The determination came last week after months of investigation by Santa Monica city officials and the attorney general’s office. The focus of the probe has been the agency’s unsecured and undocumented $25,000 loan to Trives in 1988, which he used toward building a for-profit condominium project.
Two weeks ago, Trives filed a $25-million claim against the city of Santa Monica, contending city officials defamed him by alleging he had improperly borrowed the money.
Trives’ lawyer, Stephen W. Solomon, said his client will pay restitution but nonetheless contends that the $25,000 was not a loan but an investment by the agency into the condo project.
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