CLUFF'S VACATION SURPRISE EIDC BOARD THREATENS TO TAKE ACTION.

Byline: Beth Barrett Staff Writer

An anticipated showdown between embattled Entertainment Industry Development Corp. President Cody Cluff and the agency's executive board failed to materialize Monday as Cluff took a week's vacation.

Cluff took the vacation to provide ``some breathing room'' for negotiations, said EIDC corporate lawyer George B. Newhouse Jr.

EIDC staff insisted Friday that Cluff would be at work this week, after a contentious meeting in which the executive committee voted 8-2 to place him on paid administrative leave.

Furious elected officials who sit on the committee termed Cluff's behavior insubordinate and said they would take whatever steps necessary to see their decision enforced. That included canceling contracts with the quasi-public corporation created in 1995 from county and city offices, and intended to streamline film permitting and stem runaway television and movie production.

Discussions were ongoing Monday among EIDC corporate lawyers, executive board members, and EIDC's special consultant, Keith Comrie.

``It's a matter of drafting ideas back and forth,'' Comrie said Monday.

Newhouse said he's optimistic the ``management impasse'' can be resolved.

``We hope to work something out that can effectuate the will of the executive committee, that protects Cody, and serves the long-range interests of the corporation as a whole,'' Newhouse said.

Several executive board members, including Los Angeles County Supervisor Yvonne Brathwaite Burke, said Friday that Cluff had become a ``distraction,'' and should be placed on administrative leave so the EIDC could move ahead.

The EIDC is under criminal investigation by District Attorney Steve Cooley. Cluff's homes and the EIDC's Hollywood offices were searched earlier this year after investigators learned the EIDC had given tens of thousands of dollars in political contributions to elected officials on the board.

County auditors also questioned up to $500,000 in expenses claimed by Cluff, who EIDC officials said used his personal credit cards as the corporation's line of credit. Cluff has denied any wrongdoing.

The investigation has extended to Pittsburgh, with search warrant affidavits suggesting Cluff and the head of the Pittsburgh Film Office, Dawn Keezer, misappropriated public funds. EIDC lawyers dispute the corporation is a public entity.

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After refusing to take administrative leave, EIDC President Cody Cluff wanted ``breathing room'' for negotiations, his lawyer said.

Michael Owen Baker/Staff Photographer