LOS ANGELES (AP) – The Los Angeles City Ethics Commission on Wednesday unanimously rejected a proposed settlement between the city and Les Moonves, a former man accused of obstructing a police investigation into sexual assault allegations. He said harsher punishment was warranted for the CBS chief executive. he.
Moonves will pay an $11,250 fine to resolve Ethics Commission charges that she worked closely with police department officials to obtain information about a sexual assault victim’s confidential police report. I was in agreement.
Ethics commission staff worked with Moonves on the proposed fine, which still needed approval from the volunteer committee that oversees the commission. Los Angeles Times report.
Ethics Commission Chairman Jeffrey Dahl said commissioners felt stronger penalties were necessary because of the “extremely egregious nature of the allegations.”
Representatives for Moonves declined to comment to the Times on Wednesday’s actions.
according to Documents released last FridayMoonves confirmed that they are working closely together. Captain at the time.Corey Palka We contacted the Los Angeles Police Department in 2017 to obtain details of the police report.
Mr. Palka, who served as Mr. Moonves’ personal security for CBS-produced Grammy Awards from 2008 to 2014, notified network officials in November 2017 about complaints against Mr. Moonves, the documents state. It was revealed.
They said Moonves obtained an unredacted copy of the police report through Palka, which also contained personal information such as the accuser’s home address and phone number. Ms. Moonves also met with Ms. Palka for an hour at the restaurant to discuss complaints and ways to defuse them.
Mr. Moonves was charged with three city code violations.
Palka retired from command in 2021 after nearly 35 years with the Los Angeles Police Department.
The Los Angeles City Government Ethics Code regulates the conduct of city employees and prohibits the misuse or disclosure of confidential information obtained in the course of their work.
Weeks after the #MeToo movement erupted in 2017 over sexual abuse allegations against movie mogul Harvey Weinstein, Phyllis Golden-Gottlieb told LAPD Hollywood Division police that she had worked with Lorimer Productions in 1986 and 1988. She reported that she had been sexually assaulted by Moonves, who she worked with at the time. .
Golden Gottlieb made her accusations public in 2018 and died in 2022.
Allegations of police interference against Moonves were brought to light in 2022 by New York State Attorney General Letitia James. announced a settlement In the case, CBS and Moonves agreed to pay $30.5 million to keep shareholders in the dark while management tried to prevent sexual assault allegations from becoming public.
Mr. Moonves acknowledged having relationships with three of the accusers, but said they were consensual. “Untrue allegations from decades ago are now being made against me,” he said in a statement at the time, denying he had attacked anyone.
The Los Angeles County district attorney declined to file criminal charges against Moonves in 2018, saying Golden-Gottlieb’s accusations were time-barred.
