Coliseum Commission sues former managers, saying they 'siphoned' money

The Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum Commission is suing its former top two managers, alleging that they enriched themselves through “corrupt efforts”  that defrauded the stadium of more than $1 million in public funds.

The commission also named two concert promoters in the lawsuit, Insomniac Inc. and Go Ventures, alleging that they conspired with former General Manager Patrick Lynch and ex-events manager Todd DeStefano to deprive the publicly owned Coliseum and companion Sports Arena of revenues from rave performances.

The suit seeks the return of the money allegedly “siphoned” from the commission by the defendants, as well as unspecified damages. In addition, it alleges that other unnamed defendants filed false claims to obtain money from the commission.

DOCUMENT: Coliseum Commission lawsuit

Thursday's court action follows a series of Times reports, based on records and interviews, showing that firms owned by DeStefano received more than $1.8 million from the concert promoters and other companies that did business with the commission and that Lynch collected more than $300,000 from a Coliseum contractor, who deposited the money in a Miami bank.

The Times has further reported that current and former Coliseum managers, including Lynch and DeStefano, billed the stadium for thousands of dollars in luxury car expenses, gasoline purchases and other perks.

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--Paul Pringle and Rong-Gong Lin II

Photo:  Patrick Lynch, left, in 2009; Todd DeStefano, right, in February. Credit: Mel Melcon, Ricardo DeAratanha / Los Angeles TImes