Council Panel Calls for Probe of Unneeded Seismic Retrofits

A Los Angeles City Council panel on Tuesday called for a federal grand jury investigation into allegations that contractors were paid to seismically retrofit hundreds of homes that inspectors said already had met safety codes.

The council’s Ad Hoc Committee on Earthquake Recovery asked for a federal investigation of contractors who bolted homes to their foundations and assured owners that the Federal Emergency Management Agency would pick up the tab under a special funding program.

However, FEMA rejected about 1,000 applications for reimbursement, mostly because inspectors determined that the homes already met seismic safety codes and the retrofitting work was redundant.

“Somewhere along the line we got involved with people who were doing work that didn’t need to be done,” said Councilman Hal Bernson, who chairs the committee and represents parts of the northwest San Fernando Valley.

Bernson suggested that a federal grand jury investigate because he said it appears that contractors defrauded or tried to defraud FEMA out of federal funds. He also asked for an investigation by the city attorney’s office.