Malibu Councilmember Alleges City Hall Corruption

MALIBU, CA — At a Monday night City Council meeting that saw the swearing in of three new councilmembers, 0utgoing Councilmember Jefferson Wagner announced he had provided incoming Councilmember Bruce Silverstein with an affidavit alleging several instances of City Hall corruption.

In a seven-page sworn affidavit, Wagner alleges that he was offered bribes by a vendor in exchange for voting for a contract, and that the city failed to investigate his claim of bribery; that former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa pressured him to extend City Manager Reva Feldman's contract and raise her salary, and an unexplained police raid on his home came two days after he did not; and that he has heard multiple rumors of city staff being bribed for favors and access, though he did not list any names.

Mayor Mikke Pierson said he wished the "serious allegations" had been brought forth sooner, but later told Patch that he had no comment on the document. It is unknown whether he or any other current councilmembers besides Silverstein have read it.

Wagner, meanwhile told Patch he is not commenting publicly on the specifics of the allegations at the moment.

Wagner introduced the affidavit during his closing remarks as councilmember, in which he said that he had observed "irregularities" in City Hall, and voted for Silverstein in the hopes that he would investigate them.

"I took the path of trying to be the nice guy, and not to buck City Hall, and roll with the majority. I was weak, and I think about it quite often. That weakness drove me to endorse candidates who were stronger than myself," Wagner said. "I have given [Silverstein] an affidavit of irregularities witnessed by myself and others while serving Malibu to Bruce in hopes of my provision of information will spur the review of activities the general public may not be aware of, and may wish to opinionate on."

Wagner's signed and notarized affidavit alleges that a vendor hoping to win a contract to perform parts of the Malibu City Hall remodeling and renovation offered him either an all-expense-paid three-day weekend in Las Vegas (complete with baskets full of valuable casino chips that could be cashed in at multiple different casinos and avoid detection), an all-expense-paid trip for two to Costa Rica, or the re-stuccoing and painting of his home. Wagner said he was told that each option was worth about $50,000.

Wagner wrote that he did not accept the offer, and consulted City Attorney Christi Hogin, who told him that he had been bribed. "I do not know what, if anything, the Malibu City Attorney did to follow up on this matter," he wrote. "To the best of my knowledge and recollection, the Malibu City Attorney did not bring this matter to the attention of the full Malibu City Council in my presence."

Hogin, who retired from her role as City Attorney Monday night, told The Malibu Times that she did not recall speaking to Wagner, and said that any reports of bribery would have been reported to the district attorney's office or sheriff's department.

Wagner wrote that he is unaware if other councilmembers or staffers received or accepted similar offers, but suspects they must have because a successful bid would require three Council votes. Wagner also wrote that he does not recall the name of the vendor, so it is unknown whether their renovation bid was accepted.

Wagner also reported receiving pressure from former Los Angeles Mayor and gubernatorial candidate Antonio Villaraigosa to approve an amendment to City Manager Reva Feldman's contract to extend her contract and increase her salary, and to approve a crosswalk desired by the Mani Brothers Real Estate Group near their Malibu Beach Inn property.

Wagner recalls Villaraigosa calling him in June 2018 to make sure everything was "good" with the amendment to Feldman's contract, and asking how he would vote on the crosswalk desired by developers who had contributed $50,000 to his campaign. Wagner said he made no commitments on the call, but ultimately was the sole vote against extending Feldman's contract.

Wagner said that the crosswalk was approved without being submitted to the Malibu Planning Commission, the Malibu Public Works Commission, or the City Council, and was instead handled by staff. According to city statements obtained by The Times, the project was not a Malibu or Caltrans project, and was mandated by the California Coastal Commission and permitted by Caltrans.
Just two days after his vote not to extend Feldman's contract, Wagner's home was raided by more than half a dozen police from the L.A. County District Attorney's Office for alleged violation of construction without a permit, according to a report by The Local Malibu by public corruption specialist Rob Joseph. According to Joseph's report, Wagner was later told that there was 'no violation' and 'no action being taken.' Joseph also said that Wagner also received notice that one of his properties was being assessed back taxes for a "structure on his property" that does not actually exist.

Joseph reported that officers refused to produce a search warrant or read Wagner his constitutional rights during the raid. Wagner and his partner were handcuffed, ordered outside in insufficient clothing, and denied the right to use a bathroom or call an attorney.
Wagner wrote in his affidavit that he lacks personal knowledge of the full details of how the raid came to occur, but quoted Joseph's assertion that the raid was a "clear exercise in intimidation and an excessive show of force or color of authority."

Hogin told the Malibu Times that the city or the sheriff's department had no advance knowledge of the raid.

Finally, Wagner asserted that he has been told of "multiple acts of actual or attempted corruption by at least one Member of the Malibu City Council," though he did not list any names. He wrote that he has heard reports of residents attempting to provide "incentives" to city staff members, and alleged that at least two staff members have been caught accepting them. Wagner also claimed he has heard of valuable "favors" done for friends or supporters of Feldman, and of code violations being overlooked for favored residents.

"I have no personal knowledge of wrongdoing in these other situations, but there are too many examples of otherwise exquisite coincidences to turn a blind eye to such matters," Wagner wrote. "Only by conducting a proper investigation will the truth be known."

In his opening remarks at the Monday night meeting, Silverstein said that Wagner's affidavit represents "the first time that someone with personal knowledge of such matters has come forward with details in a sworn statement, and it is the first time that an elected official has been willing to break ranks with City Hall and begin to expose the dark underbelly of City Government."

Silverstein said that he had provided copies of the affidavit to the press, and would provide copies to anyone who emailed him with a request. He also requested the City Council schedule a special meeting before the end of the year to create a Special Investigation Subcommittee with subpoena powers. He also requested the city place a "Litigation Hold" that would prevent the deletion of any materials pertinent to Wagner's allegations.

Silverstein told Patch that so far, none of these requests have been honored.