FEDS HIT UNION BOSSES LUDLOW, HUMPHRIES INDICTED IN CONSPIRACY; EX-COUNCILMAN TO ADMIT GUILT.

Byline: Dan Laidman and Lisa Mascaro Staff Writers

Former City Councilman and county union leader Martin Ludlow was indicted on felony conspiracy charges Friday in connection with breaking campaign and labor laws by conspiring with a union to bolster his 2003 council race.

Ludlow, who has agreed to plead guilty to one of the most serious charges, was charged by both county and federal officials along with Janett Humphries, former president of Service Employees International Union Local 99.

Prosecutors say Ludlow and Humphries knowingly broke the law and falsified records in arranging for employees of Humphries' union to covertly work on Ludlow's council campaign.

``Our democracy works only when there is a level playing field for all the candidates and, in this case, Mr. Ludlow took an unfair advantage over his competitors,'' said Assistant U.S. Attorney Craig Missakian. ``The money they were using belonged to the members of the labor union and these were people who worked very hard for it.''

The indictments were handed up the same day Maria Elena Durazo - widow of former County Federation of Labor, AFL-CIO, leader Miguel Contreras - was named to succeed Ludlow as interim leader of the county's most powerful union.

Ludlow, who cited the investigation when he announced his resignation from the County Fed last week, did not comment Friday. Three of his attorneys - John Vandevelde, Stephen Sadowsky and Stephen Kaufman - issued a statement saying Ludlow is cooperating with authorities.

``Mr. Ludlow has admitted that he made mistakes,'' the lawyers wrote. ``He has accepted responsibility for those mistakes by reaching agreements to settle this matter with federal and local authorities. He will do so by formally admitting what he did and by continuing his personal cooperation.''

On the local charges, Ludlow is expected to appear in court Monday to plead guilty to felony conspiracy to exceed campaign contribution limits, said Deputy District Attorney Max Huntsman.

While Ludlow has agreed to plead guilty to a felony count of conspiring to violate labor laws, his arraignment on that charge is set for March 27.

Neither federal nor county prosecutors expect Ludlow to serve jail time. The federal plea deal calls for Ludlow to pay about $36,500 in restitution and not to work for any labor organization for 13 years.

If Ludlow pleads guilty as expected in the local case, he could face about $40,000 in fines and be barred from holding elected office for several years, authorities said.

Humphries, whom prosecutors say has not cooperated, entered a not-guilty plea Friday in Superior Court to two felony conspiracy charges. Her federal arraignment is pending.

Humphries' attorney, Nick Pacheco, said Friday that his client was not aware of any misconduct during the 2003 race. He called prosecutors' allegations untrue and suggested that the blame lies with lower-ranking union officials.

``In the union structure, most of them have a figurehead as president,'' he said.

Pacheco said there is no awkwardness representing Humphries in a case that originated in the hard-fought city elections of 2003. That year, Antonio Villaraigosa, now mayor, unseated Pacheco as the councilman representing the Boyle Heights-Eagle Rock area.

Ludlow is a close political ally of the mayor, and Villaraigosa's 2003 council campaign also drew strong local union support.

Prosecutors declined to say Friday whether they are probing any other 2003 campaigns, although both federal and local officials said their investigations are continuing.

Villaraigosa spokeswoman Janelle Erickson said neither the mayor nor anyone from his City Council campaign has been interviewed by investigators.

``The mayor feels this is a sad day for the city and for labor,'' she said. ``He's heartened that Martin Ludlow is taking responsibility for his actions.''

The case began in 2002 as Ludlow reached out to his friend, Humphries, for help with his burgeoning council race, authorities said. Labor activist Ludlow was an underdog in the campaign, which pitted him against the chosen successor of longtime Mid-City Councilman Nate Holden.

Ludlow and Humphries allegedly hatched a scheme in which campaign workers were put on the union's payroll, drawing more than $30,000 in salary and benefits, money not approved by the union's board.

Prosecutors also allege that Humphries embezzled union money to pay for Ludlow's cell-phone bills and for travel for her friends and family.

The pair later allegedly worked to hide the improper arrangement by fabricating documents including backdated forms and bogus union records.

The international SEIU leadership ousted Humphries from her post in 2004 and took over Local 99. SEIU accountants discovered the campaign improprieties and alerted regulators and law enforcement officials, prosecutors said.

Ludlow, meanwhile, was elected to the City Council, where he served until mid-2005. He left to lead the County Federation of Labor after the death last summer of Contreras, the longtime leader who built the group into a powerful force in Los Angeles politics. Ludlow stepped down from the post last week.

Contreras' widow now will ascend to the top county post while a search is conducted for a permanent replacement. She will leave her position as head of UNITE-HERE, the hotel workers' union that plans a nationwide strike this summer.

Ludlow was expected to leave his position Friday; Durazo will hold the interim post until a permanent successor is chosen. Rick Icaza, president of the federation, said her pay will be the same as Ludlow earned.

Durazo did not return calls seeking comment.

Nominations for the permanent job will begin in April, with a vote scheduled for May.