Wednesday, April 17, 2013

Second Ethics Complaint Against DA Gascon Over Travel



My first Ethics Commission complaint against District Attorney George Gascon was filed on April 5, because he violated Section 3.216(d)(1) of the municipal conflict of interest law requiring disclosure of gifts of travel prior to taking a trip paid for by an outside source. Gascon traveled to Arizona in June 2012 but waited until March 2013 to file the required papers.

In his latest Statement of Economic Interests, Form 700, recently filed with the Ethics Commission here, Gascon reports he accepted a $209 gift of travel on November 9, 2012, to Los Angeles paid for by the Californians for Safety and Justice group, pictured.

However, and this is the basis for my second ethics complaint, filed yesterday, Gascon has thus far failed to disclose the travel gift with the commission as required by law.

Included in the complaint is the matter of the DA not following Section 67.29-6 of the Sunshine Ordinance, which states: "No official or employee or agent of the city shall accept, allow to be collected, or direct or influence the spending of, any money, or any goods or services worth more than one hundred dollars in aggregate, for the purpose of carrying out or assisting any City function unless the amount and source of all such funds is disclosed as a public record and made available on the website for the department to which the funds are directed." 

The DA's About Us page omits both the Arizona and Los Angeles trip, and should be included there in order to comply with all applicable sunshine laws.

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