Firm to Pay Lobbying Fine

A Los Angeles government relations firm accused of violating the city’s lobbying ordinance 256 times has agreed to pay an $18,000 fine, according to a report released Wednesday.

The head of the city Ethics Commission found that King R. Woods & Associates failed to disclose that dozens of its clients--including a businessman seeking to build a massive health club on Wilshire Boulevard--had paid nearly $170,000 for lobbying services between January 1996 and June 1998.

The firm also failed to disclose that it had contributed $500 on two occasions to Councilman Nate Holden’s 1996 reelection campaign and another $500 to Councilman Mike Hernandez’s officeholder account, according to a report prepared by the commission’s executive director, Rebecca Avila.

City law requires that registered lobbyists disclose their financial ties in quarterly reports to the Ethics Commission or face stiff fines. Commissioners will decide next week whether to accept the agreement with the firm.

Owner King R. Woods could not be reached for comment. According to the report, he voluntarily waived his rights under the City Charter and agreed to pay the fine as part of a settlement agreement.

“Respondents have no prior enforcement history with the city Ethics Commission and were very cooperative during the audit,” Avila wrote in her report. “In addition, respondents claim that their violation of the law was unintentional.”

The report says Woods’ firm represented a number of businesspeople, including Edward Ahn, the developer of the $24-million sports complex on Wilshire in Koreatown. Other clients included Food 4 Less, the Garden Suite Hotel and the Ebony Theatre.

If the fine is accepted, it will be the largest levied against a lobbyist in the history of the commission. Since it was formed in 1991, the commission has issued $877,000 in fines against 62 firms and individuals.

Generally, the largest penalties collected involve alleged money laundering.