KEY STARR PROSECUTOR HAS L.A. TIES.

Byline: Eric Wahlgren and Rick Orlov Daily News Staff Writers

A federal attorney with a history of handling high-profile cases in Los Angeles - including the Rodney King beating - has emerged as a key player in Independent Counsel Kenneth Starr's investigation of sexual allegations involving President Clinton.

Michael W. Emmick, who spearheaded the initial federal inquiry into the conduct of Los Angeles Police Department officers in the 1991 King beating, was the federal attorney who interviewed Monica Lewinsky for several hours last month, according to Washington press reports.

The 10-hour interview of the former White House intern at a Pentagon City hotel is one of the most controversial aspects of the independent prosecutor's investigation.

During the inquiry at the hotel, Emmick told Lewinsky - who is alleged to have had an affair with the president and lied about it in an affidavit - that she could be indicted for perjury and obstruction of justice if she did not cooperate with prosecutors, according to a story in The Washington Post.

Tactics questioned

That extended inquiry of Lewinsky has raised concerns that Emmick and other Starr investigators were trying to ``squeeze'' Lewinsky and achieve her cooperation with the continuing investigation of Clinton. Lewinsky did not have an attorney when she was taken to a room at the Ritz-Carlton Hotel in the Washington, D.C., suburb for questioning.

Emmick, a former prosecutor in the U.S. Attorney's Office in Los Angeles, joined Starr's team about six months ago, becoming one of two attorneys from the L.A. office to take part in the investigation of the president.

The former Los Angeles prosecutor is no stranger to controversy and legal cases that capture the nation's interest.

As head of the Public Corruption and Government Fraud section of the U.S. Attorney's Office in Los Angeles, Emmick in 1992 launched the initial federal civil-rights inquiry into the beating of King, a motorist, by LAPD officers in Lake View Terrace.

The probe, which was suspended to allow the state to prosecute the officers, resumed after that trial ended in the acquittal of all four. A subsequent federal trial resulted in the April 1993 conviction of Sgt. Stacey Koon and Officer Laurence Powell for violating King's civil rights.

Emmick also was the lead prosecutor in a corruption and beating case in the early 1990s against several Los Angeles County sheriff's deputies. The prosecution failed to win convictions against all of the accused lawmen.

Laurie Levenson, dean of the Loyola Law School and a former federal prosecutor who worked with Emmick, described him as ``a sort of a run of the mill prosecutor.

``He was not a superstar, but he also wasn't a wacko,'' Levenson said. ``I can tell you he's not a rabid right-wing conspiracist.''

Levenson was referring to first lady Hillary Rodham Clinton's comments in a television interview that her husband has been the target of right-wing conspirators since he took office.

Opportunity with Starr

Levenson said she believes Emmick was restless with his place in the Los Angeles U.S. Attorney's Office when the chance to work for the independent prosecutor came up.

``At the time he went with Starr, I think he was looking for something different. He wanted to be chief of the criminal division, and, when that didn't happen, I think he felt it was time to move on.''

William H. Ginsburg, the Los Angeles attorney who flew to Washington, D.C., to represent Lewinsky after the marathon questioning session at the Ritz-Carlton hotel, immediately lashed out at federal prosecutors for their tactics.

During the Jan. 16 questioning, Emmick offered Lewinsky complete immunity from prosecution if she agreed to record discussions with unspecified individuals, according to The Post.

Emmick was insistent that Lewinsky had to strike the deal that night, The Post said. Emmick called off the proposed arrangement once Ginsburg, a longtime friend and lawyer for the Lewinsky family, became involved in the negotiations, The Post said.

Ginsburg told Lewinsky he could not counsel her to accept any offer before he reviewed tapes that Lewinsky's friend and colleague Linda Tripp had made that reportedly contain Lewinsky's comments about her relationship with Clinton.

Emmick could not be reached for comment.

Ginsburg and Starr's team have failed to reach an agreement to grant Lewinsky full immunity in return for her cooperation in the investigation.

Starr has drawn intense criticism for expanding his Whitewater investigation of the Clintons' financial dealings to include the alleged affair between the president and Lewinsky. Calling the prosecution out of control, some critics have questioned the concept of an independent prosecutor.