Posted on 07/27/2006 9:59:45 AM PDT by NormsRevenge
Barry Munitz , chief executive of the J. Paul Getty Trust, had a private lunch with his friend Attorney General Bill Lockyer as the state probed Munitz for allegedly mismanaging trust money, the Los Angeles Times reported.
Lockyer, California's top law enforcement official, acknowledged that the January lunch at a downtown pizzeria might look bad, but said the two did not discuss the investigation. He said, however, Munitz did disclose plans to resign from his $1.5 million-a-year post because of the controversy surrounding his lavish spending.
Munitz quit a month later and agreed to forgo more than $2 million guaranteed in his contract and to reimburse the Getty $250,000.
Lockyer's revelation of the meeting between the two, which came in response to questions from The Times, comes as investigators are set to release findings in the yearlong probe of the $5.5 billion arts nonprofit.
Munitz, now a "trustee professor" at California State University, Los Angeles, did not respond to an e-mail requesting an interview.
Lockyer, who is running for state treasurer in November, said the lunchtime conversation focused on books and movies. He said the Getty chief initiated the meeting.
"This was, in my mind, lunch with a personal friend that I've known for a long time and it didn't have anything to do with the case," Lockyer said. "I can understand how someone could say the appearance was bad. But, hey, he's my friend."
"I was being a good listener, kind of consoling him as he leaves a job that he loves," Lockyer added.
For this reason, Lockyer said, the lunch did not violate his policy of avoiding solo meetings with targets of investigations.
Lockyer's office began investigating Munitz last summer after reports that the Getty chief executive had made grants to friends, traveled excessively on the trust's dime, used staff for personal errands and demanded a raise as the trust was cutting expenses.
Government ethics experts said the meeting showed bad judgment but did not break any laws.
"If the report comes out and the A.G.'s office says there are no problems at the Getty, the question will be: What part did Lockyer have in it?" said Robert Stern, director of the Center for Governmental Studies. "You'll always have a perception problem."
Robert Fellmeth, director of the Center for Public Interest Law at the University of San Diego, said news of the meeting could give pause to investigators working on the case.
"They can say, 'Wait a minute. The boss is meeting with this person. What do I do now?" he said.
Records and interviews showed Lockyer also had contact with others involved in the Getty during the state probe.
The attorney general had two private telephone conversations with a lawyer whose firm was hired to represent the trust in the investigation. Lockyer described the talks with attorney Ronald Olson as short "courtesy calls" to arrange for the handoff of documents and to discuss Munitz's resignation.
Olson contributed $1,000 to Lockyer's first campaign and another $1,000 for his 2000 re-election, records show.
New title
Calif AG lunched with Getty chief who was being probed by state
The guy Villaraigosa is reported to be appointing as Deputy Mayor (Ramon Cortines) is on the board of the Getty Trust.
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1671965/posts
Just another Dem money machine... dirty money, that is.
Poochigian needs to get in and clean up Lockyer's mess.
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