Film Agency Cuts Off Legal Fees for Cluff

The executive committee of the Entertainment Industry Development Corp. voted Monday to stop paying the legal fees for former President Cody Cluff, who was indicted Aug. 20 on charges of embezzling $150,000 for travel, strip clubs, country club memberships and other personal expenses.

The EIDC, which is charged with helping studios film in Los Angeles and is overseen by city and county elected officials, has paid $100,000 for Cluff’s lawyers. Cluff has pleaded not guilty to the charges.

An audit of the troubled agency released last month said the EIDC’s operational structure was flawed and its financial position precarious. Officials are now working to revamp the agency, and as part of that voted Monday to institute several basic accounting principles.

Officials also proposed a new board structure for the agency.

Under the plan, which must be approved by the board, the city of Los Angeles would have two seats, instead of the 18 it has now. Los Angeles County would have one seat, instead of the six it now has. The film industry would have 20 seats.

The new structure would also give a board seat to business groups and local neighborhood groups, which have complained about the disruptions caused by filming in residential areas.

In grand jury testimony, elected officials have said that, even though they sat on the agency’s board of directors, most never attended meetings or monitored spending.