EDITORIAL ETHICAL DILEMMA COUNCILMAN'S FUND-RAISING VIOLATIONS GIVEN LIGHT SLAP.

THE Los Angeles City Ethics Commission has fined Councilman Antonio Villaraigosa $5,100 for 13 contributions to his 2001 mayoral bid that were more than allowed. The action was, really, a light slap on the wrist considering that he could have been hit with fines of up to $30,000.

Nonetheless, the action caused Ethics Commission Chairman Gil Garcetti, the former district attorney who ought to know more about law enforcement, to complain that Villaraigosa's violations were just ``technical,'' implying that the commission was too harsh in imposing fines at all.

But in a city where pay to play has become the rule and where moneyed special interests are buying City Hall favors on a daily basis, the Ethics Commission ought to be talking about throwing the book at violators and toughening the law.

Politicians like to use the veil of ignorance in the manners of fund raising. They hire accountants and bookkeepers to keep tabs, and implicitly convey a don't-ask, don't-tell policy. This gives them perfect cover when their malfeasance is uncovered.

Garcetti's successor, District Attorney Steve Cooley, seems to understand this. He recently charged a top executive for prominent apartment developer Alan Casden and 13 subcontractors with felonies for allegedly violating campaign finance laws. Throwing the book at a few more contributors and politicians just might help clean up City Hall.