LAPD Captain Covered Up Sex Abuse Allegation Against CBS's Moonves: AG

LOS ANGELES, CA — A retired Los Angeles Police Department captain is facing allegations that he repeatedly interfered to stymy an investigation into sexual assault allegations against Hollywood powerhouse and former CBS CEO Les Moonves.

New York Attorney General Letitia James announced an investigation into the officer Wednesday at the same time that she announced that CBS and Moonves will pay $30.5 million for conspiring to conceal sexual assault allegations against Moonves from investors, regulators and the public.

According to James, an LAPD captain played a key role in the coverup. The LAPD later identified the officer as Cmdr. Cory Palka, who was captain of the Hollywood station in 2017 and 2018 and has since retired.

It occurred at the height of the #MeToo movement, which ultimately led to Moonves' ousting at CBS.

New York's attorney general alleges the officer, who LAPD Chief Michel Moore later identified as the former commander at the LAPD's Hollywood division, shared an unredacted police report with a CBS executive working for Moonves as soon as it was filed. According to James, the captain continued to run interference for Moonves with case updates and efforts to prevent press leaks.

The tip from the captain prompted a cover-up campaign by CBS and Moonves, who at one point sent a text message saying "Hopefully we can kill media from PD. Then figure what (the woman who filed the complaint) wants," prosecutors said.

When the allegations went public, the captain texted the CBS executive, “We worked so hard to try to avoid this day. I am so completely sad,” Deadline reported.

Moore denounced his former captain on Wednesday in a written statement.

“What is most appalling is the alleged breach of trust of a victim of sexual assault, who is among the most vulnerable, by a member of the LAPD. This erodes the public trust and is not reflective of our values as an organization.”

The department has opened its own investigation "regarding the conduct of the retired command officer as well as to identify any other member(s) of the organization that may have been involved," he added.

The bulk of the $30.5 million payout announced Wednesday will be distributed to CBS shareholders, according to New York prosecutors. As part of the resolution of the case, the network will also be required to overhaul its policies on sexual harassment reporting and training.

"As a publicly traded company, CBS failed its most basic duty to be honest and transparent with the public and investors," New York Attorney General Letitia James said in a statement.

"After trying to bury the truth to protect their fortunes, today CBS and Leslie Moonves are paying millions of dollars for their wrongdoing. Today's action should send a strong message to companies across New York that profiting off injustice will not be tolerated and those who violate the law will be held accountable."

According to the New York Attorney General's Office, while the investigation of the allegations against Moonves was pending, both the former captain and CBS officials made "deceiving statements" to the public and regulators before the allegations became public. The New York attorney general noted that Mooves made a statement at a public event that he "did not know of workplace harassment issues, while privately working to suppress another allegation uncovered by a reporter."

Moonves, now 73, was ousted in late 2018 amid the sexual harassment allegations. He submitted his resignation in September 2018 following an article in The New Yorker magazine that detailed six women's allegations of harassment by Moonves in the 1980s and 1990s. Moonves publicly denied any wrongdoing.

The network's board of directors determined in December of that year that there were grounds to terminate Moonves for cause, meaning he was officially fired and left unable to collect an anticipated $120 million severance.

The situation led to questions about the network's handling of harassment complaints. The company's internal investigation into the situation ultimately concluded that harassment and retaliation were not pervasive at the network.

"However, the investigators learned of past incidents of improper and unprofessional conduct, and concluded that the company's historical policies, practices and structures have not reflected a high institutional priority on preventing harassment and retaliation," according to a 2018 board statement. "The investigation determined that the resources devoted to the company's Human Resources function, to training and development and to diversity and inclusion initiatives have been inadequate, given the size and complexity of CBS' businesses.

"Employees also cited past incidents in which HR and the company did not hold high performers accountable for their conduct and protect employees from retaliation," according to the board's statement.

Separately, the network will pay nearly $15 million to resolve a shareholder lawsuit that was filed in response to the handling of the Moonves allegations.

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City News Service and Patch Staffer Paige Austin contributed to this report.