Prosecutors’ Solicitation of Campaign Funds Draws Fire

Prompting charges of political retribution, the office of Dist. Atty. Gil Garcetti has asked the state attorney general’s office in Los Angeles to determine whether three prosecutors violated a law that forbids them to seek campaign contributions from their colleagues.

The three prosecutors, two of whom are top officials of an association that is frequently critical of Garcetti, signed a letter dated Sept. 15, 1998, asking deputy district attorneys to attend a fund-raiser for Rep. James Rogan (R-Glendale).

The prosecutors are James Bozajian, who is secretary and former president of the Assn. of Deputy District Attorneys; Albert MacKenzie, the current president; and Walter Lewis.

“This was not a violation of the law, and the attorney general will find that out,” Bozajian said. “This is a political retaliation, and it stinks.”

Sandi Gibbons, Garcetti’s spokeswoman, scoffed at Bozajian’s charge.

“That’s silly,” she said.

Any time questions arise about whether an employee violated a statute, she said, the matter has to be referred to the attorney general’s office for a review. Office policy also prohibits soliciting campaign contributions of employees of the district attorney’s office, Gibbons said.

The attorney general turned the matter over to the city attorney’s office because it is a misdemeanor case. A city attorney’s spokesman said the review began Friday.

The letter invited people to attend a fund-raiser Oct. 13 for Rogan, who is a former prosecutor, with House Speaker Newt Gingrich at a private home in Glendale. The letter said the cost was $125 per person, $200 a couple and $600 for a meeting and photo opportunity with Gingrich.

The three prosecutors say that the letter was legal because the policy exempts solicitations made to the public. They say prosecutors who received the letter were a part of a long mailing list that included thousands of people outside Garcetti’s office.

The Assn. of Deputy District Attorneys and Garcetti have had a stormy relationship, particularly several years ago when it accused him of showing favoritism to a defendant because a relative had been a campaign contributor.

MacKenzie on Friday questioned whether the state statute applies to the solicitation because it was for a federal campaign.

Bozajian complained that Garcetti took the action even though no one had filed a complaint about the letter. He also said Garcetti did not consult with them in advance about his concerns.

Although Bozajian did not openly take sides in the 1992 election for district attorney because of his official position with the association, it was common knowledge that he supported Garcetti’s rival, John Lynch.

Lewis, who has not been involved in district attorney campaigns and is not a critic of Garcetti, said his signature on the letter wasn’t a violation.

At the time he signed the letter, Lewis said, it did not occur to him that it might violate the law or office policy. He added that he was more concerned that his signature might inappropriately imply that Garcetti’s office was endorsing Rogan or that there might be a conflict of interest if the auto theft section in which he works was getting any federal grants.

Although he consulted the employee relations department about those questions, he did not ask whether the solicitation for money was illegal.