CITY APPROVES SETTLING LAWSUIT FOR $1.9 MILLION.

Byline: Patrick McGreevy Daily News Staff Writer

The Los Angeles City Council voted Tuesday to pay $1.9 million to settle a lawsuit by the families of four city workers who were shot to death by a rampaging co-worker who officials allegedly knew was dangerous but did nothing about.

The payment to the spouses of Anthony Gain Sr., Neil Carpenter, James Walton and Marty Wakefield settles a lawsuit that claimed the city knew city employee Willie Woods was a potential danger to co-workers but failed to take action to prevent the massacre at the Piper Tech Center in 1995.

Woods, a 12-year city employee, was facing disciplinary action at the time he brought a handgun to work and killed the four co-workers in the radio repair office. Woods was sentenced last year to life in prison for the murders.

``They (city managers) knew they had an individual with violent propensities and they knew it for years,'' said Gary Eto, an attorney for the widows.

A judge who recommended settlement of the civil case said the body of evidence against the city could have resulted in seven-figure judgments against the city for each of the plaintiffs if the case had gone to trial.

Deputy City Attorney Thomas Gutierrez acknowledged that Woods had run afoul of supervisors before the shooting and was, at the time of the incident, facing an administrative hearing that might have led to his removal.

In fact, Woods allegedly tore up a bad work evaluation and threw it away in the weeks before the shooting.

``The allegation was that the city had knowledge of a poor work history by the perpetrator but had not taken adequate measures to protect the workplace,'' Gutierrez said.

Since the incident, the city has developed a system aimed at preventing more workplace violence.

``The city now has a strenuous workplace violence program to identify and red-flag problem employees and steer them in the right direction, to counseling or other programs,'' Gutierrez said.

As for the surviving family members, the financial settlement will not ease the pain, but does bring closure to the civil case, Eto said. ``We're glad it's behind us,'' Eto said.

In other action Tuesday, the council voted to pay $625,000 to settle a lawsuit by Caroline Conetta, who was seriously injured in 1996 when the car she was driving was hit head-on by a Cadillac that crossed the center divider on Osborne Street in Pacoima.

The driver of the Cadillac told investigators poor road conditions contributed to the crash, which occurred after she hit a curb while moving aside for a truck passing in a narrow lane, according to a report by the City Attorney's Office.

The Bureau of Engineering had proposed signs to warn of the narrowing of lanes on Osborne Street near Dronfield Avenue in 1963 and again in 1989, but signs were never installed.

Police investigators also said the curb hit by the Cadillac had tire marks indicating other motorists had struck the curb, where the road narrows. A private mediator estimated the city's liability could exceed $5 million and that settlement was in the city's best interest.

Conetta was 67 years old and in good health before the crash. She now uses a wheelchair, the city report said.