Panel Probing Alatorre Goes to Court

Los Angeles Ethics Commission investigators probing possible misconduct by City Councilman Richard Alatorre are asking a court to compel the lawmaker to comply with a subpoena requiring him to answer questions under oath.

Last week, after repeatedly postponing voluntary appointments to answer investigators’ questions, the Eastside councilman refused to respond to a commission subpoena, according to a lawsuit filed by the agency Wednesday.

The commission is investigating allegations that Alatorre intervened with a top city regulator last year on behalf of an event planning and fund-raising firm founded by his wife. If it occurred, such intervention violates a city ordinance. The Ethics Commission probe, according to its suit, focuses on Alatorre’s alleged use of his position to “induce or coerce” the head of the city’s charity watchdog department “to provide something of value” to the event company.

Generally, city ethics laws prohibit elected officials from “inducing” special treatment unavailable to the public. Violators can be fined up to $5,000.

A spokeswoman said Alatorre could not be reached for comment. His attorney did not return a call placed late Wednesday.

The Ethics Commission probe began last month, following a Times story on Alatorre’s ties to two children’s charities he helped create. On their behalf, the councilman has solicited sizable donations from businesses, lobbyists and others doing business with the city and the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, on whose board Alatorre sits.

The charities exclusively hired the fund-raising and event-planning company founded by Alatorre’s wife. The firm, Eventfully Yours, staged events and coordinated fund-raising drives, bringing in more than $225,000 in fees. As legal ownership of Eventfully Yours has shifted between her family members, Angie Alatorre has remained a key employee, earning $36,000 a year, the Alatorres say.

The MTA inspector general’s office is investigating the financial ties between the charities and Eventfully Yours. The state attorney general’s office also is probing Eventfully Yours’ charitable fund-raising activity.

Alatorre and his wife say they have done nothing improper or illegal.

The Times reported that Alatorre intervened last year after Eventfully Yours’ city license had been canceled because the company failed to file financial information about its operations. Head charity regulator Shirley Flucus said she had warned the El Sereno Youth Development Corp., one of the Alatorre-supported charities, that a major fund-raising event would not be approved if Eventfully Yours did not submit the necessary material.

About 30 minutes later, Flucus said in an interview, she was surprised to receive a call from Alatorre about Eventfully Yours’ problem. “Do me a favor. Give ‘em a break,” she recalled the councilman saying. Alatorre mentioned “a family connection” to the firm and promised all the required paperwork would be forthcoming, Flucus said.

Flucus said she relented, and her office wrote Eventfully Yours that its license was being temporarily extended “per the conversation between Councilman Richard Alatorre and the general manager of this department.” The extension allowed Eventfully Yours to collect thousands of dollars in fees. The financial paperwork never arrived.

Alatorre said in an interview that he could not recall speaking to Flucus, but said he could have made the call. If he did, he said, it was “nothing sinister.”

Ethics Commission Executive Director Rebecca Avila declined comment.

The suit says Alatorre’s attorney had agreed that Alatorre would testify at the commission office on July 24, Aug. 1 and Aug. 5. Each time, the interview was postponed at the request of the lawmaker’s attorney. The commission then issued a subpoena requiring Alatorre to appear on Aug. 15.

After further discussions on the proposed testimony’s scope, the suit says, Alatorre’s attorney sent a letter saying “there is no remaining issue requiring an interview” and the councilman did not appear as ordered.

The commission, which says Alatorre’s sworn testimony is material to its investigation, is asking that the Superior Court order the councilman to comply with the subpoena or face contempt-of-court charges. A hearing is tentatively set for Friday.