D.A. Frustrated by Lack of Leads on Anti-Semitic Calls

While closing the books on one case of political dirty tricks, the district attorney’s office Friday voiced frustration at the lack of leads in its investigation of telephone calls attacking the recent mayoral campaign of Los Angeles businessman Steve Soboroff.

Dist. Atty. Steve Cooley said he found it perplexing that Soboroff and his supporters have not been more helpful about finding the source of anti-Semitic calls last month that claimed the businessman’s candidacy was “entirely dependent on Jewish money.”

“I just wish people would recognize it would be nice to clear the air of this political dirty tricksterism and expose it for what it is,” Cooley said, describing the calls as “the political equivalent of a hate crime.”

In contrast to the recently closed case involving calls attacking mayoral candidate Antonio Villaraigosa, Cooley said, his office has never received any correspondence from Soboroff or his campaign suggesting a sense of urgency.

(Cooley announced Wednesday that the calls attacking Villaraigosa were generated by the campaign of another former mayoral candidate, Los Angeles Democratic Rep. Xavier Becerra.)

“In the other case, we received complaints from county Supervisor [Gloria] Molina and Antonio Villaraigosa that were immediate and in writing,” Cooley said. “They documented what they knew, and it gave us a basis for taking action.”

But with Soboroff’s case, Cooley said, there has never been a formal complaint. Nor, according to Cooley’s office, has Soboroff or his campaign ever produced a promised recording of the controversial call.

“We never got it,” said Deputy Dist. Atty. David Demerjian.

In interviews Friday, Soboroff and his former campaign manager, Ace Smith, both said Cooley’s office was given a copy of the tape. They also insisted that they provided prosecutors with names and other information in an effort to get to the bottom of the phone calls, which went out just days before the April election.

“I have been pushing them like crazy,” said Soboroff, who Friday broached the possibility of offering a $5,000 reward for any information in the case.

“We gave them the tape and a bunch of names of people who actually got the calls,” said Smith, who is now working for Villaraigosa’s campaign.

Soboroff Quickly Decried the Calls

The calls, which went out over the Passover weekend, were immediately decried by Soboroff and others during the hectic days before the April 10 election.

Many of those calls went out to Jewish voters, and Soboroff’s level of Jewish support almost doubled in the 10 days before the April election, according to The Times’ polls.

Prosecutor Demerjian said his office has considered many theories, including the possibility that Soboroff’s campaign may itself have produced the calls as a way of rallying Jewish support. “We talked about that as a possibility,” Demerjian said. “But I am not so sure that would have been a great political move . . . and we looked at it because we can’t rule anything out.”

Soboroff said that he asked his staff the day after the calls became public whether they had any inkling of who was responsible, including fellow campaign workers. He said they assured him that they did not know the source of the calls.

“If I were to find out that somebody in my campaign did it, I would try as hard as I can to put them in jail,” Soboroff said. “I don’t care who it is.’