Former CBS chairman and CEO Les Moonves was ordered to pay $11,250 this month after it was discovered that he tried to influence a now-retired LAPD captain to interfere in the sexual assault investigation against him.
According to legal documents from the city of Los Angeles Ethics Commission obtained by a local NBC affiliate, Moonves agreed to pay the fine after it became clear that he attempted to interfere with the investigation against him.
Moonves resigned from CBS in 2018 after 12 women accused the executive of sexual misconduct in a pair of New York articles published by Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Ronan Farrow.
The former CEO has denied the allegations against him.
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Former CBS president Les Moonves was recently ordered to pay a fine for disrupting a Los Angeles Police Department investigation until allegations were made that he committed sexual assault. (Tara Ziemba / Contributor)
A New York Times report at the time of Moonves' departure also accused the former network boss of destroying evidence related to the investigation into his misconduct, as well as misleading the investigators involved.
According to Los Angeles City Ethics Commission documents, Moonves induced now-retired LAPD Capt. Cory Palka to give him confidential information about a sexual assault investigation against him following allegations by his former employee in 2017. .
The alleged victim, Phyllis Gottlieb, told reporters in 2022 that Moonves assaulted her while she was working for him in 1986. Moonves has denied the allegation, although he would not have been charged for the incident because it was beyond the statute of limitations. .
Still, Moonves was punished for obtaining leaked information about the official investigation from Palka.
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According to legal documents, Moonves sought confidential information about a sexual assault case against him from a now-retired Los Angeles police captain. (Mel Melcon/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)
Palka, whose jurisdiction included Hollywood, met “personally with Moonves on Nov. 25, 2017 at a restaurant in Westlake Village to share what should have been confidential information,” NBC4 reported.
The two discussed confidential information related to the investigation on another occasion, and Moonves texted Palka about the case in December of that same year.
Palka exchanged another message with Moonves in 2018 after the executive resigned. The documents revealed that the former captain told Moonves: “I am deeply sorry that this happened. I will always be by your side, I will support you and I will pledge my loyalty to you.”
In 2022, the Los Angeles police began their own investigation into Palka's interactions with Moonves. At the time, LAPD Chief Michael Moore gave a statement, saying, “Most egregious is the alleged breach of trust of a sexual assault victim. This erodes the public's trust and does not reflect our values as an organization.”
Fox News Digital has reached out to Paramount and CBS News for comment and is awaiting a response.
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