ATTORNEY BELITTLES ETHICS FINE O'DONNELL: ``DON'T GIVE A DAMN''.Byline: BETH BARRETT Staff Writer Fined by the city Ethics Commission In the United States, an Ethics Commission is a commission established by State law to discourage dishonest practices by their public employees and elected officials. Almost all American states have such a commission. for his role in illegal campaign contributions to former Mayor James Hahn's 2001 election, prominent attorney Pierce O'Donnell scoffed Tuesday at efforts to penalize pe·nal·ize tr.v. pe·nal·ized, pe·nal·iz·ing, pe·nal·iz·es 1. To subject to a penalty, especially for infringement of a law or official regulation. See Synonyms at punish. 2. him and his employees. O'Donnell earlier this year pleaded no contest in Los Angeles Los Angeles (lôs ăn`jələs, lŏs, ăn`jəlēz'), city (1990 pop. 3,485,398), seat of Los Angeles co., S Calif.; inc. 1850. Superior Court to five misdemeanor counts of using a false name while making political contributions. He was fined $155,000, banned from political fundraising for three years and placed on probation for that period. O'Donnell also was fined $147,000 by the commission. In the latest round, the Ethics Commission on Tuesday fined 11 people involved in the scheme at his firm -- from paralegals to a mailroom mail·room n. A room in which ingoing and outgoing mail is handled for a company or other organization. employee -- a total of $13,500 for receiving reimbursements from O'Donnell. O'Donnell said he is not concerned that his firm will be harmed by city sanctions. ``I don't give a damn Verb 1. give a damn - show no concern or interest; always used in the negative; "I don't give a hoot"; "She doesn't give a damn about her job" care a hang, give a hang, give a hoot ,'' O'Donnell told the Daily News, noting that neither he nor his firm currently has any city business. ``If they bar me, they bar me. There are a lot of fish in the ocean.'' O'Donnell said his firm is thriving, particularly after the record attorney fees it received in an antitrust case Noun 1. antitrust case - a legal action brought against parties who are charged with limiting free competition in the market place action at law, legal action, action - a judicial proceeding brought by one party against another; one party prosecutes another for a . And he said his work on behalf of the city in the past has been limited. ``It's not a very important part of my practice.'' Steve Levin, political-reform project director for an L.A. nonprofit, nonpartisan research organization, the Center for Governmental Studies, said some businesses even budget for such fines as part of the cost of doing business with city government. ``If it's a knowing violation, a complete flaunting of the law, it's willful. Then even a day or a night in jail would scare someone senseless,'' said Levin, who said he worked briefly for O'Donnell's firm while in law school. But Levin said there's little political will from legislators and public officials to impose tougher penalties that might be challenged in court on constitutional freedom-of-speech grounds. The Ethics Commission has only levied fines in the O'Donnell case, including about $15,000 against nine other people last month. Ethics Commission President Gil Garcetti Gilbert "Gil" Garcetti (b. August 5, 1941) served as Los Angeles County's 39th District Attorney for two terms, from 1992 until November 7, 2000. Background Gil Garcetti received a bachelor's degree in Management from the University of Southern California and a Juris , formerly Los Angeles County district attorney, said the issue of broader penalties could be considered. ``Would it be appropriate? I'm not saying it wouldn't be. It could be something we could consider. Should we (consider it) is a larger question,'' he said. Garcetti said he would be hesitant, for example, to penalize O'Donnell's law firm. ``You'd have to show evidence that others were involved at that law firm (who) were as culpable Blameworthy; involving the commission of a fault or the breach of a duty imposed by law. Culpability generally implies that an act performed is wrong but does not involve any evil intent by the wrongdoer. as he was.'' The commission's vice president, Bill Boyarsky, a former journalist, said he would be reluctant to expand current penalties to punishments such as banning individuals or companies from doing more business with city government after violating city ethics law. ``I don't like huge penalties,'' Boyarsky said. ``My overall goal is compliance with the law that we have right now.'' If O'Donnell, for example, were banned from doing business with city government in Los Angeles, ``he'd do business somewhere else,'' Boyarsky said. Boyarsky said that passing tougher laws in reaction to the O'Donnell case could sweep up Verb 1. sweep up - force into some kind of situation, condition, or course of action; "They were swept up by the events"; "don't drag me into this business" drag in, embroil, tangle, drag, sweep people who may have been taken advantage of. In Tuesday's ruling by the commission, mailroom employee Mark Ramirez, facilities manager Bert Rodriguez and paralegals Linda Fraser, Hilda Escobar, William Powell This article refers to the American actor. For other people with the same name, see William Powell (disambiguation). William Horatio Powell (July 29, 1892 – March 5, 1984) was a three-time Academy Award-nominated American actor, noted for his sophisticated, cynical , Sherrill Soliz and Sharon Wright were each fined $1,000 for receiving reimbursements from O'Donnell after they contributed $1,000 to Hahn's campaign. Accountants Becky Ma and Cathleen Lee, as well as paralegal paralegal n. a non-lawyer who performs routine tasks requiring some knowledge of the law and procedures, employed by a law office or who works free-lance as an independent for various lawyers. Leonard Kishimoto, were fined $2,000 each for receiving reimbursements after making joint contributions with their spouses, and legal assistant Dannette Polchowski was fined $500. Boyarsky said the public's interest is protected by a combination of standards, but also by the flexibility of case-by-case reviews. ``Do you believe all these laws make people more honest?'' beth.barrett(at)dailynews.com (818) 713-3731 |
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