Feinstein Investigation in DA's Hands

By Oliver Lukacs and Jorge Casuso

August 11 -- A police investigation into Councilman Michael Feinstein’s alleged misappropriation of Green Party funds has been turned over to the District Attorney's Office, a move authorities say is "standard procedure."

The referral comes after police served the Kinceta Federal Credit Union with a search warrant for the records of an account where the former mayor deposited a $10,000 check donated to the County Green Party in January 2001.

Feinstein contends that the money was used to rent and operate the Green Party office in Santa Monica he opened with the blessing of the State Green Party in 1999. But he has refused to turn the bank records over to county party, saying it has no jurisdiction over the office.

Sandi Gibbons, spokesperson for the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office, said her agency is just following standard procedure and investigating the case, but that no criminal charges have been filed against Feinstein.

“The police collect the evidence, they send it to us, we look at the evidence and do our own investigation," Gibbons said. "When it’s finished, we evaluate the evidence to see if it meets the criteria” for prosecution.

“There is an investigation but there is no case at this time,” she said.

For there to be a case the DA’s office must establish that a crime has been committed, identify the criminal and conclude that the evidence “is sufficient to prove beyond reasonable doubt that the crime was committed,” Gibbons said.

“That’s when we file," she said. "The police investigate, prosecutors charge.”

The investigation by the Santa Monica Police Department's Audit and Inspection Unit was spurred by a crime report filed in March by Bob Morris, the former treasurer for the County Green Party.

Morris told police that party member Bill Pietz donated the $10,000 check to conduct Green Party of Los Angeles County (GPLAC) "business such as voter registration, printing pamphlets and brochures, and funding for candidate searches," according to an affidavit filed with the court clerk last month.

Instead, Morris said, the money was used to fund the office at 2809 Pico Boulevard, which "was not solely a GPLAC enterprise," but was used "for a variety of interests and organizations affiliated with or supported by Councilperson Feinstein," according to the affidavit.

Morris also filed a complaint with the Fair Political Practices Commission, which is currently investigating the civil case. The state agency, which regulates campaign funding, does not comment on pending cases.

The $10,000 check is at the center of an ongoing controversy that has embroiled the local and State Green parties since August 2001. For an in-depth account visit the five-part series in The Lookout.