Officials Urge EIDC Chief to Step Down

Los Angeles Mayor James K. Hahn and county Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky called Thursday for Cody Cluff to step down from the presidency of the Entertainment Industry Development Corp., citing a continuing criminal investigation into allegations of misuse of funds.

A third member of the EIDC’s executive committee, Los Angeles Councilwoman Wendy Greuel, also called for Cluff to step aside to restore credibility to the agency.

“There are just a lot of questions surrounding his administration of the EIDC, and until they are resolved, the mayor feels he should take a leave of absence,” said Matt Middlebrook, deputy mayor.

All three said allegations that Cluff misused EIDC funds have put a “cloud” over the EIDC.

“The agency is being tainted every day, and only [Cluff] knows what else is coming,” Yaroslavsky said. “This is Chinese water torture for everybody.”

Yaroslavsky said Cluff should be put on a paid leave of absence. Greuel agreed.

“We have discussed and recommended that Cluff either voluntarily resign or go on an administrative leave,” she said. “I know the importance of the EIDC. We want to make sure we get this entity back to being a credible organization so the [film] industry can believe that it is spending money properly and focusing on its mission, which is keeping productions here.”

But other elected officials said no action against Cluff should be taken until two audits are completed.

“All we have are allegations based on assumptions without facts,” said county Supervisor Mike Antonovich. “You are innocent until proven guilty. This is not a fascist court.”

Several other elected officials agreed, including City Council members Ed Reyes, Alex Padilla and Cindy Miscikowski.

Cluff’s lawyer, George Newhouse, said Hahn, Yaroslavsky, and Greuel have violated their contractual responsibility as corporate board members to protect the EIDC.

“To call for Cody’s removal before we have all the facts, before the audit committee is selected and to jump to conclusions is regrettable and unwise. It’s irresponsible,” Newhouse said.

The Los Angeles County district attorney’s office is investigating whether Cluff has misappropriated EIDC funds through lavish expenditures and political contributions to elected officials, including many who serve on the agency’s board of directors. Neither Yaroslavsky nor Greuel have received donations from EIDC, although individual agency staff members have given $5,400 to Greuel’s campaign.

This week, the district attorney’s investigation spilled into Pennsylvania, where investigators allege that Cluff gave close to $47,000 in EIDC funds to the Pittsburgh Film Office and to help establish a national film advocacy group called FilmUS, both headed by Dawn Keezer. Investigators have alleged that Cluff had an “an ongoing, personal relationship” with Keezer. They searched the film office, Keezer’s home and an art gallery where Cluff purchased an $8,700 painting for his Hollywood office.

The allegations pushed the inquiry to a new level, with investigators now alleging in a sworn affidavit that Cluff and Keezer were conspiring to misappropriate EIDC funds and that Cluff was motivated by his personal relationship with Keezer. They also allege that FilmUS is not a legitimate organization, and that it was “created by Cluff and Keezer as a means of collecting funds from the EIDC and other film offices around the U.S. for their personal use.”

Several state film commissioners told The Times on Thursday that prosecutors misunderstood the role that Cluff and Keezer played.

Veronica Rinard, executive director of the Oregon Film and Video Office and one of 196 members of FilmUS, said the group has been instrumental in promoting legislation to help keep filming in this country.

Michael Styer, one of the founding members of FilmUS and the former head of Maryland’s film office, said Cluff and Keezer did not create the advocacy group. He said fees to establish the group came “from a large number of film commissions” across the United States, not just the EIDC.

He said that Cluff and Keezer were duly elected by the nation’s film commissioners, and that it would have been difficult, if not impossible, for them to stash money in FilmUS’ accounts or withdraw money without the signature of the treasurer. “The structure [of FilmUS] makes it impossible,” he said.

Regardless of the allegations, Yaroslavsky said he does not intend to prejudge Cluff.

“The concept of the EIDC is right, which is to keep the film industry alive and well, but we need an agency run without a cloud hanging over its head,” he said.

“I think he should make an offer to the board to take a paid leave of absence or to resign.

“How can the agency function in this environment? Cody is besieged, and I feel for his predicament,” said Yaroslavsky.

“He can’t run the organization and deal with these allegations simultaneously. The EIDC is not Cody Cluff.”