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THE VIEW FROM HERE - The gross incompetence of the Los Angeles District Attorney’s Office in the OJ Simpson Case was so outlandish that it even showed up years later in the TV Show, The Closer. The show, however, pretended the fault rested only with the LAPD. Gil Garcetti, father to notorious Mayor Eric Garcetti, was both the District Attorney during the OJ case and the consultant on The Closer.
Today, Los Angeles has District Attorney George Gascón rather than Gil Garcetti. While Gascón is an improvement over his direct predecessor Jackie Lacey, that is like saying a slap in the face beats a knee to the groin. On June 13, 2023, the world was presented with the Felony Complaint for Arrest of Los Angeles City Councilmember Curren de Mille Price, Jr. All journalists, reporters, and muckrakers had only a few hours before our deadlines. Thus, follow-up articles are necessary as we go back to plow through the convoluted complaint. Yours Truly’s prior article was Is Councilmember Currern Price’s Prosecution the First or the Last to Address LA Corruption?
Rotten Fish and Defective Complaints Need to be Thrown Out
Now that there’s been time to review the criminal complaint, the only question is whether it was a product of gross incompetence or gross corruption. In either event, the complaint needs to be either completely dismissed or amended. Courts provide prosecutors an opportunity to replace a defective complaint. Legally, it is no big deal unless the factual allegations change in subsequent complaints.
On Friday afternoon, June 16, 2023, Yours Truly advised the deputy district attorney who signed the complaint that his complaint’s “allegations to be contradictory in some places and to be vague, ambiguous and unintelligible in other places,” and that ameliorative steps were needed.
Because the District Attorney speaks on behalf of the People, he has a duty to do a competent, honest job. A public who thinks self-government is a spectator sport will find an increasingly corrupt government. The DA’s Office failed to provide adequate assurances of rectification; hence, this article is being published. According to Councilmember Price’s office, DA Gascón provided no advance notice of the complaint’s filing. While prior notice is not required, the failure to extend the courtesy reflects very, and I emphasize, very poorly on DA Gascón.
Gascón’s Problem with the City Council’s Vote Trading System
As mentioned last time, the city council’s Vote Trading System is problematic for the district attorney since it makes it impossible to prove that Councilmember Price voted for projects because his wife had been a paid consultant connected to the project. A layperson can easily think, “Well, she got tens of thousands of dollars and he voted Yes. End of story.” Wrong. Curren Price voted Yes on every single project before the city council. The Vote Trading System required Price to vote Yes. Since Price was already under a duty to votes Yes, how can it be proved beyond a reasonable doubt that this particular Yes vote was motivated by his wife’s being paid money? In fact, all councilmembers vote Yes on every project.
Due to the Vote Trading System, when Councilmember Price is in council chambers, and even sometimes when he is not in council chambers, the vote tabulation machine will vote for him. Of course, the obvious question is: Why the District Attorney is silent about the Vote Trading System which Penal Code § 86 criminalized? The Feds evaded this issue by not bringing cases where the councilmember had voted in a city council session, as opposed to during PLUM meetings. DA Gascón, however, repetitively drags the Vote Trading System in his case. Perhaps, he does not know what he is doing.
The Infamous Form 700
The DA tells us that Form 700 requires Councilmember Price to disclose all the money his wife made. No. That’s false. Form 700 says what is not reportable: “Your spouse’s or registered domestic partner’s income that is legally “separate” income so long as the funds are not commingled with community funds or used to pay community expenses.” (Bold added)
DA Gascón alleged multiple times under penalty of perjury. “Del Richardson then being the legal wife of CURREN DE MILLE PRICE JR and being the sole owner of Del Richardson & Associates . . .” (Bold added)
Because the DA alleges Richardson was the sole owner, none of the money her business received from the developers or their associates was reportable on Form 700. The DA never alleges that the funds were thereafter commingled. If they were commingled, then the DA should allege that fact.
The Health Insurance Premiums
Gascón alleges, “Public Funds for her medical premiums when he (Price) was not legally married to DELBRA PETTICE RICHARDSON because CURREN DE MILLE PRICE JR was still legally married to Lynn Suzette Price.” This is not as simple as one might think. When drafting a complaint which is basically a count for breach of contract, plaintiff must either attach the contract or recite the provision which was breached. This complaint has neither. Fancying it up with the frills of fraud does not change the basic nature of the alleged wronging. While a breach can be fraud, it must be pled with specificity. This is not.
DA Gascón is Messing Around with the Public’s Need for Candor
The complaint needs to be amended or attach the Summary Plan Document, if any, the health care policy, and other documents such as the application to add Richardson to the health care coverage. At the least, the complaint should state verbatim the provisions which were beached. Compare Gascón’s complaint with the DOJ Complaint against Trump for the documents at Mar-a-Lago. Since Councilmember Price is a public figure, when the DA starts with factual allegations, he may not withhold other material allegations. It’s possible, there was full disclosure of Richardson’s non-wife status and she qualified as Significant Other, which does not require marriage. When the DA’s allegations are incomplete and misleading by omissions, he is manipulating the public and depriving the defendant of a fair trial. As Yours Truly practiced both ERISA and Bad Faith Insurance Law for decades, Gascón’s gaping holes are clear, but evident only to someone with years of experience. Is Gascón intentionally pulling the wool over the public’s eyes or is he this incompetent?
(Richard Lee Abrams has been an attorney, a Realtor and community relations consultant as well as a CityWatch contributor. You may email him at [email protected]. The opinions expressed are those of Mr. Abrams and not that of CityWatchLA.com.)
