City Council Has Not Decided Whether to Cover Duran's Possible Legal Fees

The West Hollywood City Council has not yet decided whether to indemnify Councilman  John Duran in the event that the Los Angeles County District Attorney decides to file criminal charges against him regarding reimbursement for meals during which he was discussing city business.

As West Hollywood Patch reported on May 2, in the event the district attorney does prosecute. Duran told Patch the district attorney was questioning his using the card to pay for 128 meals over three years, totaling about $7,000.

The possible charges against Duran grew out of an regarding alleged misuse of the city credit cards by City Hall employees.

Prior to its meeting on Monday night, the City Council met in closed session to discuss the possibility of covering Duran’s legal fees. Duran was not present during that discussion.

City Attorney Mike Jenkins told Patch in an email on Thursday, “No decision has been made as of this time. When the Council makes a decision, we will announce it.”

Jenkins said Government Code section 995.8 allows the city to defend at city expense a criminal proceeding brought against a city officer or employee.

However, if the Council opts to defend Duran, it will not hand him a check.

“The city is not considering placing money into a defense fund,” Jenkins said. “Rather, the City Council is considering whether to provide Councilman Duran with a defense to litigation against an ‘officer’ of the city.”

Public Reaction at Council Meeting

At Monday’s Council meeting, many people were talking about the Duran situation, which the Los Angeles Times reported on in its May 5 edition. A majority seemed to be defending Duran, some noting it would cost the district attorney much more than $7,000 to prosecute the case.

During public comment, resident Joe Clapsaddle, holding a copy of the LA Times in his hand, said of the district attorney’s threat of prosecution, “This is bullying at its most basic.”

Clapsaddle then asked the audience to stand to show their support for the Duran. More than half the audience stood up and clapped.

Later during public comment, resident Victor Omelczenko, also holding up a copy of the newspaper, said that people love West Hollywood, but do not love the kind of publicity appearing in the LA Times.

“I hope that what looks like a tempest in a teapot is resolved through the ongoing investigation because we have other issues that need addressing,” Omelczenko said.

Inquiry Still Underway

In a statement on its website regarding the Los Angeles Times article, the city quoted Jenkins as saying, “The City has been informed that the District Attorney has completed its investigation as regards the City and its employees and the City does not expect any further action by the District Attorney with respect to the City or City employees."

When Patch contacted the district attorney’s office, spokesperson Sandi Gibbons essentially confirmed that statement.

“Mr. [David] Demerjian, the head of the Public Integrity Division, met with the city attorney and city manager and told them that although the expenditures by city employees were high, we were not looking to file criminal charges against the non-elected employees at this time,” said Gibbons. “The inquiry is aimed at Mr. Duran and his expenditures. That inquiry remains under way.”

When the inquiry began in March 2011, city employees, rather than Duran, seemed to be the focus. On the eve of the March 8, 2011 city council election, on the city’s credit cards in 2010.

Those charges—most of which were made by Councilman John Heilman’s deputy Fran Solomon and City Manager Paul Arevalo—included a dinner for six at that totaled $674 and one at that came to $308. Other charges included $2,040 for six Montblanc pens and $1,860 for gift cards purchased at .