Riordan Appoints Lawyer to Building and Safety Post
Los Angeles Mayor Richard Riordan on Monday nominated a Northridge lawyer to the Los Angeles Building and Safety Commission to replace Scott Adler, who resigned in disgrace May 30 and is under two criminal investigation for allegedly soliciting a 17-year-old prostitute and for conflicts of interest.
Lee Canon Alpert, a San Fernando Valley resident for 25 years who is the host of the weekly public affairs television program “Parallax Forum,” would serve until 1998 if confirmed by the City Council. A graduate of UCLA and Loyola University law school, Alpert’s primary areas of expertise are administrative and government relations and arbitration.
Adler, a lawyer, lobbyist and land developer, was appointed president of the Building and Safety Commission in September, 1993. The Los Angeles Police Department’s bunco-forgery division is investigating whether he violated conflict-of-interest laws by representing a Korean bar manager in court regarding fines for city code violations. A separate LAPD probe alleges that Adler flashed his commissioner’s badge and implied to a teenaged prostitute that he was a police officer who could help her if she ever got in trouble at City Hall.
No charges have been filed in either case.
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