Lobbyist Fined For Hosting LA City Officials At Lavish Party

LOS ANGELES, CA — The Los Angeles City Ethics Commission Tuesday approved a reduced fine of $11,380.83 for a lobbyist who invited city officials to a lavish birthday party that cost him more than $51,000.

An Ethics Commission investigation found John Ek violated the city's Governmental Ethics Ordinance when he invited 37 city officials, including the members of the Los Angeles City Council and Mayor Eric Garcetti, to his 50th birthday party, which constituted a gift.

Ek has been a registered lobbyist at City Hall since 1995. Lobbyists are not allowed to offer or give gifts of value to elected officials and are also prohibited from giving gifts to unelected officials if the lobbyist seeks to influence one or more decisions in their agencies.

A report on the investigation said Ek admitted he violated the ethics ordinance by throwing the party at Perch restaurant in downtown Los Angeles on May 20, 2015. Ek paid for all costs, which included food, an open bar and entertainment.

According to the report, the value of the gift improperly offered to each city official was $205.06. All city officials who attended the party reimbursed Ek for the full value of the gift after being contacted by commission staff, but the report did not identify them by name.

The fine is half of what Ek had faced, and he agreed to pay the reduced amount before the hearing as part of a negotiation with investigators.

Sergio Perez, the commission's director of enforcement, said the fine was reduced because Ek cooperated with the investigation.

Several of the five commissioners expressed hesitation at reducing the fine, but ultimately voted unanimously to approve it.

"He was in the business of being a lobbyist, so I don't know how that mistake could have been made. I do have a concern about a negotiation that ends up with just 50 percent," Commissioner Andrea Sheridan Ordin said.

Perez explained there are several reasons for his office to offer reduced fines during a negotiation, and one is that a negotiated settlement achieves the commission's goals of enforcing ethics laws faster than a contested hearing.

Commission President Jessica Levinson also pointed out that faster hearings save taxpayers money, and said a 50 percent reduction is typically offered when a subject is cooperative because it "incentivizes that kind of behavior."

The Los Angeles Times reported that City Council members Nury Martinez and Mitchell Englander attended the party. A spokeswoman for Englander said he later reimbursed Ek, and a spokesman for Martinez said she reimbursed him without being notified by the commission staff because she knew attending the event amount to a gift.

Perez told the commission that because all of the officials who attended the party reimbursed Ek within the appropriate amount of time, there was no violation of ethics laws on their part.

Ek did not speak at the hearing, and neither did any of his representatives, Robert Alaniz, a spokesperson for Ek, issued a statement to City News Service afterward.

"Mr. Ek is pleased that this matter involving invitations to his 50th birthday party has been resolved. Following the party, Mr. Ek was advised by Ethics Commission staff that inviting city officials to his birthday party was considered offering a gift, and was prohibited due to Mr. Ek's occupation as a registered lobbyist," the statement said.

"Mr. Ek, who has no prior enforcement history with the Ethics Commission, has never seen this interpretation in his 25-plus years as a city lobbyist. Nevertheless, he cooperated fully with Ethics Commission staff and settled this matter to put the issue to rest."

City News Service; Photo: Shutterstock