Trutanich team criticizes Delgadillo's management

Newly elected Los Angeles City Atty. Carmen Trutanich today released his official transition report, and it shows no mercy for his predecessor, Rocky Delgadillo.

Units within the office’s Criminal and Special Litigation Branch were “downright anemic from their lack of resources, staffing, leadership and support," the report concluded. Morale among the unit’s attorneys and other staff also was “very low."

Delgadillo rebuffed that criticism when contacted for a response. He said the overwhelming majority of his budget was devoted to the criminal and special litigation branch, and the attorneys made tremendous gains in cracking down on gang crime in the city and ensuring that public schools were free of violence.

“Clearly, like any prosecutor, I would have liked to have more money, but we were in a budget crisis," Delgadillo said. “We did a lot with the money we had. I’m proud of the work that the attorneys did in the office."

Trutanich, who took office July 1, enlisted a transition team of top attorneys and community members to review the functions of the office and recommend improvements. Their report also included recommendations to increase training for attorneys, hire more investigators and adopt a transparent process for promotions and employee evaluations.

The harshest criticism of Delgadillo’s management related to the public integrity and ethics unit, which has responsibility for investigating allegations of wrongdoing against elected and appointed city officials.

“The city attorney’s office does not appear to currently investigate or prosecute violations of the City Charter related to public integrity,’’ the report states, noting “the absence of any named attorney for this unit and the absence of any specific report concerned the activities of this unit.’’

Officials with the Los Angeles County district attorney's office said the agency’s referrals to the city attorney for possible misdemeanor violations of the City Charter “were apparently not pursued," the report states.

Again, Delgadillo said that criticism was off the mark. He said, in fact, one of his most senior criminal attorneys headed the public integrity unit. Delgadillo added that, in most instances, those cases were referred to either the district attorney or U.S. attorney for prosecution since the city attorney’s office can prosecute only misdemeanors.

Delgadillo served as city attorney for eight years, and was termed out of office in July. He is now a lawyer in the Los Angeles office of Goodwin Procter LLP, and is exploring a possible run for California attorney general.

—Phil Willon at L.A. City Hall

Comments

[Jeff]

Delgadillo cracked down on gang crime? How? By prosecuting misdemeanors? Right...

[IvanG]

Whatever Rocky may say, he was a disgrace as City Attorney. I cannot imagine his getting the nomination for California Attorney General.

[Los ojos]

Attacking Rocky for having abided by budget restrictions, and allowing some 50 lawyer slots to dwindle by attrition, is NO reason to attack him for an "anemic" staff!

Rocky sure had his faults aplenty and was proven a liar about his own resume, but is absolutely right that he abided by budget restrictions instead of his "ideal" staffing needs like Trutanich is hellbent on, even in this absolutely worst budget crisis where the city's spending $1 MILLION MORE A DAY than it's taking in. Budget Committee head Parks is saying the city may go bankrupt, and Controller Greul gives it 8 months if things don't drastically change. Other depts. are being gutted, union and non-union.

Cops and firefighters will have to face cuts, our city may lose cops through attrition, crime will rise. Fires will take longer to put out, paramedics may arrive too late or not at all.

YET Trutanich announced before he took office that he firmly intends to CREATE a PRIVATE police force "with cars and all the high-tech gadgets" that LAPD has to fight for, as city staff has reduced take-home cars finally, and most use shared cars parked at their office buildings. This PRIVATE police force would "police the police," he arrogantly announced, as well as all other officials. (The ones he threatens with lawsuits, like volunteer Board and Commission members, if they don't do his bidding however arbitrary, and although their duty may lie elsewhere as they see it.) This is just to copy his mentor DA Steve Cooley, who wanted all along to use Trutanich as his own eyes and ears and extra reach to "clean out the cockroaches" as they call them with their friends on rightwing talk radio. THIS IS BEYOND OUTRAGEOUS. He also has auditors shadowing Greuel's every month, to make sure she sticks to ROCKY's books and not where he doesn't want her.

This private police force is on TOP OF the 60 high-priced specialist lawyers Trutanich insists on hiring BACK, plus training them at great expense, so he can MAYBE handle more cases in-house and MAYBE save money down the line. He doesn't care one whit that this is not the time to be increasing staff on a speculative basis. THE CITY ATTORNEY'S DEPT. IS CURRENTLY $6.5 MILLION IN THE RED EVERY MONTH ON PAYROLL ALONE. Threatening Concilmembers with vague "criminal aspects" to get what he wants via his handmaiden Dennis Zine, is another case of bullying and utter arrogance and irresponsibility.