D.A.: It Appears Dymally or Staff Broke the Law

The official-looking badges that Assemblyman Mervyn Dymally (D-Compton) handed out to campaign contributors, relatives and others now are being investigated by the Assembly Rules Committee, the governing body for the 80-member lower house. Assembly Speaker Fabian Nunez (D-Los Angeles), who ordered the internal probe, wrote in a letter that the badges "are very disturbing to me personally."

But Assembly Rules Committee Chairman Hector De La Torre (D-South Gate) has already told the L.A. Times' Dan Morain and Evelyn Larrubia: "You can dance around it all you want, but it is a crime. I have very strong feelings about this, and those feelings will be reflected in my report to the speaker."

These are not plastic badges that a child would carry. They are heavy, metal badges that come with an official seal and that read, "California State Assembly. Commissioner." There is no such thing as a state Assembly "commissioner," but I wonder if the average person is going to know that. Morain, who first broke this story, found that a dozen people who received badges have donated more than $25,000 to Dymally since 2003. Morain writes today:

"Names on order forms include Dymally's wife and a former chairman of the Morongo Band of Mission Indians, which owns a large casino. The tribe has donated $9,200 to Dymally, and Morongo gave $65,000 to the Legislative Black Coalition, which helps elect African Americans. Dymally chairs the Legislature's black caucus."

What has law enforcement been doing about this? L.A. County District Attorney Steve Cooley looked into the matter this summer, and his Public Integrity Division wrote Dymally a stinging letter. David E. Demerjian, the head deputy of the division, cited state law prohibiting the unauthorized use of the Assembly seal and against the distribution of badges that might resemble those of a state officer. He wrote:

The violations are misdemeanors. Dymally responded by collecting some of the badges and returning them to Cooley's office. No charges have been filed against Dymally.

The Nunez and Demerjian letters can be read in the link below.