Posted on 07/23/2004 9:40:21 AM PDT by NormsRevenge
LOS ANGELES (AP) - A federal grand jury has opened an investigation into the Los Angeles Unified School District's purchase of its $74.5 million downtown headquarters. LAUSD Inspector General Don Mullinax disclosed the investigation Thursday in a memo to school district officials.
"I am writing to inform you that at the request of the U.S. Attorney's Office, Central District of California, the Office of the Inspector General is providing assistance in a federal grand jury investigation regarding the purchase of the Beaudry building," Mullinax wrote.
Board member David Tokofsky, who cast the only vote against the purchase of the building, called the probe "a very serious situation."
"The U.S. attorney and the Board of Education share a mutual concern for the public interest against those who might or did take advantage of the public's funds," Tokofsky said.
The district three years ago bought the 29-story building for $74.5 million, with another $80 million budgeted for renovations. A total of $180 million in bonds were issued to fund the project, including the purchase price, repairs and moving costs.
The structure, built in 1982, has sagging concrete floors, poor ventilation and seismic trouble.
A 2001 investigation raised possible conflict of interest questions about the deal.
The building's owner, Beaudry I Investors, a Connecticut-based corporation, had been represented by attorney Cole Finegan, a friend of Superintendent Roy Romer. The district's general counsel ruled that it was not a conflict of interest.
Romer has insisted that the building was safe and a good deal for the district. Romer on Thursday again defended the purchase.
"There was great, great attention given to this choice," he told the Los Angeles Daily News. "I know of nothing improper. If anyone else does, I'm very interested in knowing."
The county district attorney's office also is investigating the purchase.
John Perez, president of United Teachers Los Angeles, welcomed the grand jury probe.
"The whole thing is a mess. I don't know if there was anything illegal about it, but it's a bad building, and it was a bad decision. ... You can get seasick walking in that building," Perez said.
In another development, the school board voted Thursday to extend Romer's contract, which could keep the former Colorado governor as superintendent until 2007.
Romer, 75, did not seek and was not offered a raise from his current $250,000 annual salary.
I'm glad to see Romer (nee Romero) took his cronyism with him.
"There was great, great attention given to this choice," he told the Los Angeles Daily News. "I know of nothing improper. If anyone else does, I'm very interested in knowing."
I wouldn't trust Roy Romer with anything.
Romer's Obsession - It's time to say goodbye to Belmont -- for real
March 19, 2003
Roy Romer just can't let go.
The superintendent of the Los Angeles Unified School District is, in a word, obsessed with the Belmont Learning Center. Neither the oil wells, the earthquake fault nor the tens of millions of dollars wasted can convince him that this star-crossed project rightfully belongs in the ash heap of LAUSD history.
Twice now the district has pulled the plug on Belmont, yet Romer wants to give the school one more try.
SNIP
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