The Los Angeles City Ethics Commission on Wednesday unanimously rejected a proposed settlement between the city and former CBS CEO Leslie Moonves, saying a harsher penalty was warranted for the executive, who had been accused of interfering with a police investigation into sexual assault allegations against him. .
Moonves had agreed to pay a fine of $11,250 to resolve a complaint from the city's Ethics Commission that accused him of inducing a government official to violate laws so that Moonves would have a tactical advantage in a police complaint against him.
Ethics Commission staff worked with Moonves on the proposed fine, but it still needed approval from the volunteer panel that oversees the department.
Jeffrey Daar, chairman of the Ethics Commission, acknowledged that it was “somewhat unusual” for the panel to reject a proposed fine.
Commissioners felt the “extremely egregious nature of the allegations” warranted a harsher penalty, Daar said.
Each count carried a maximum penalty of $5,000, or $15,000 for all three counts.
A representative for Moonves declined to comment on Wednesday's action.
The matter dates back to November 2017, when former Los Angeles Police Cmdr. Cory Palka began working with Moonves and other CBS executives to supposedly bury an LAPD complaint filed by a woman who had accused Moonves of sexual assault in the 1980s.
Palka, who has since retired, was then chief of the Los Angeles Police Department's Hollywood station. He had known Moonves for almost a decade because he had been part of Moonves' security team for the Grammy Awards for several years.
Moonves' career as head of CBS collapsed amid a growing sex scandal that came to light as part of the #MeToo movement. Moonves, who resigned from CBS in September 2018, denied harassing or assaulting women.
The ethics complaint details how, on November 10, 2017, a former colleague, Phyllis Golden-Gottlieb, was inspired to speak out about her allegations of past dealings with the then-powerful television executive.
He drove to the Hollywood police station to file a complaint against Moonves. Later that night, Palka called CBS officials and alerted them to the existence of the Golden-Gottlieb report.
Over the next few weeks, Palka, Moonves, and one of Moonves' subordinates discussed strategies to thwart the Golden-Gottlieb report and worked to ensure that it did not gain traction within the Police Department or the Los County district attorney's office. Angeles, according to records in the case, which came to light in late 2022 as part of a report by the New York Prosecutor. General Letitia James.
James had accused Moonves and CBS of misleading investors about the extent of sexual harassment discovered at CBS, information that hurt the company's stock.
The former CBS chief was charged with three violations of the city's Government Ethics Ordinance, which governs the conduct of city employees and prohibits them from misusing or disclosing confidential information acquired through their work.
Under the terms of the proposed settlement, Moonves had agreed to pay a settlement of $11,250 and acknowledged that he violated city laws by “aiding and abetting the disclosure and misuse of confidential information.”
He also admitted to inducing “a city official to misuse his position to attempt to create a private advantage for Moonves.”
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The ethics complaint also accused Moonves of violating city ordinance by inducing Palka to “create for Moonves the private benefits of access to confidential information from an LAPD investigation.”
The ethics board on Wednesday also rejected a proposed $2,500 settlement with Ian Metrose, CBS' former senior vice president of talent relations and special events. Metrose admitted that he violated city law by aiding and abetting the disclosure and misuse of confidential information.
Daar said the cases remain in the Ethics Commission's law enforcement division.
The City Charter sets maximum fines for penalties, but the fines have not been updated in decades. The Ethics Commission is seeking to increase penalties, Daar said.
“Five thousand dollars doesn't make sense today, especially when there are very egregious accusations,” Daar said.
