FPPC Formally Imposes Fine on Alatorre

The state Fair Political Practices Commission on Thursday formally fined Los Angeles City Councilman Richard Alatorre $2,000 for illegally using his office to help a fund-raising firm founded by his wife.

In a settlement reached last month, Alatorre conceded that he had misused his position and agreed to pay the state fine, the maximum allowed.

Including the latest fine, the veteran officeholder has agreed to pay $8,000 in the case for violating state and local political reform laws.

In stipulated agreements with the FPPC and the city Ethics Commission, Alatorre, a Democrat, said he violated prohibitions against using his position to influence government decisions in which he had a financial interest.

The Times disclosed earlier this year that Alatorre called Shirley Flucus, a city official who regulates charities, in May 1996 and asked her to renew the license of Eventfully Yours, the fund-raising firm created by his wife, Angie, and which employed her as a key executive. She was paid about $36,000 a year, the Alatorres said.

At the time of the call, the company’s license had been canceled for failing to report required financial information. Alatorre asked that the license be extended, which Flucus agreed to do.

Flucus noted Alatorre’s call in a letter to Eventfully Yours. As a result of the extension, the firm was able to collect $13,000 in fund-raising fees.

The FPPC voted Thursday without dissent to impose the $2,000 fine. Darryl E. East, the FPPC’s executive director, said the agency’s staff considered filing a civil lawsuit against Alatorre. However, he said, it was decided that the combined fines of $8,000 were “sufficient to cover the harm” Alatorre caused.

It was the second time Alatorre had been fined for violating the state political reform law. In 1988, he was fined $2,000 in a conflict-of-interest case involving a $722,500 city contract for bus service in his East Los Angeles district.