EDITORIAL WINDFALL PROFITEERING ACEVEDO DEAL RAISES SERIOUS QUESTIONS.

NOT just anyone can buy a vacant lot on the taxpayers' dime, do nothing with it, then turn it over for a massive profit. But then, not just anyone is a City Hall power broker.

Fortunately for James Acevedo, he is a City Hall power broker. And so, the wealthy, well-connected developer just happened to be in a position to gain advantage from failure on the public's money.

A nonprofit organization that Acevedo heads up received a $485,000 state loan to buy some land for affordable housing in Winnetka. After nearly four years, the group hasn't built anything. But Acevedo's luck would have it, the city's Community Redevelopment Agency is ready to bail him out with a check for $1.9 million.

How's that for a windfall? Quadruple your money - that is, quadruple the taxpayers' money, only you keep the profits - all for doing nothing. Taxpayers not only provide the investment, but also provide the return!

While it's hypothetically possible that anyone could stumble into this kind of good fortune, not just anyone has. Acevedo is a big-time contributor in City Hall, a major backer of City Council President Alex Padilla and Councilman Tony Cardenas.

In L.A., you make your own luck.