Is Justice for Sale in L.A.?

Insight on the News, May 3, 1999 by Kelly Patricia O'Meara

An alleged slush fund for the L.A. Superior Court Judges Association is at the heart of a scandal involving possible income-tax evasion and gifts that may affect judges' rulings.

Child-custody cases always are heart-wrenching, but a three-month probe by Insight has unearthed an added twist for parents with cases before the Superior Court in Los Angeles. Emotionally distraught litigants are questioning whether a cozy financial connection between judges, attorneys and some court-appointed professionals in the City of Angels is affecting the outcome of their cases. Friends of the court are concerned that, at the very least, there is a strong appearance of impropriety.

Private bank accounts that benefit judges are at the heart of this brewing scandal -- one that state and local agencies resolutely have failed to investigate, adding further suspicion. Bank accounts funded in part by fees from local lawyers and others involved in the family-court system are troubling litigants. Many feel it is impossible to know whether they're facing a judge who has benefited financially from an attorney appearing before the court.

Former presiding judge Robert Parkin tells Insight that an account critics dub a slush fund is nothing more than "coffee-and-flowers" cash for the Los Angeles Superior Court Judges Association, or LASCJA. But documents obtained by Insight show the bank account served a great many purposes and that the judges' association, a private organization, did not pay taxes on funds run through the account for the benefit of its members -- who also would be subject to taxes.

Law-enforcement sources are nervous and concerned about the LASCJA accounts. They and county officials tell Insight not the least of the concerns is that for years county employees, paid by the taxpayers, were at the same time working on the LASCJA's books. This is because before filing for federal tax-exempt status in late 1997, the LASCJA was using the federal employer-identification number, or EIN, of Los Angeles County, which in turn covered the fact that the judges were not paying taxes on the outside income they moved through their association.

"On the face of it, there appear to have been one or several laws that may have been broken, but without specific information' it is impossible to know what statutes are applicable" says Beth Miller, a spokeswoman for California Secretary of State Bill Jones. At the federal level a spokesman for the IRS who declined to be named said that an act of this nature "may fall under Section 72.061 of the tax code -- fraud and false statements."

How much money is involved? Plenty. Just one of the LASCJA Bank of America account statements shows this alleged "coffee-and-flowers" fund with a balance of $110,000, according to copies secured by Insight.

Parents with business before the Superior Court say they feel caught in a web of judicial deceit that borders on an organized racket. But for years their requests for an investigation fell on deaf ears, as elected officials and law-enforcement agencies did nothing. Enter Marvin Bryer, a retired computer analyst in La Crescenta, Calif.

Bryer became ensnared with the family-court system after his daughter, Karen, was faced with losing custody of her 2-year-old son. Having spent nearly $100,000 on attorneys and research fees, Bryer took matters into his own hands and has been campaigning for a probe of a system that he claims "purposefully profits off the conflict of the families in litigation." He says, "I felt violated, almost numb, when I learned that the judges were making money through the child-custody system. The judges have too much power, and nobody is monitoring these guys."

In July 1994, Bryer challenged the internal finance auditor of the family court, Gregory Pentoney, to turn over all records of donations to the court from members of the Los Angeles County bar. It was in those records that he found two "donation" checks totaling $6,750 to the judges' fund, requisitioned through the bar association by the mother of the man Bryer's daughter was resisting in her custody case. This was regarded as compromising family-court judges in Los Angeles County from hearing the case and it was moved to Orange County.

According to a statement by Robert M. Mallano, the presiding judge of the Superior Court in 1993 and 1994, the funds being deposited into the account were not payments from lawyers and other court personnel, but "contributions made by judges to the association." If so, were these earned funds on which taxes were not paid, and what did the judges do to earn these monies? Moreover, other funds also were deposited in the LASCJA account. In a deposition taken in response to a case in which Mallano was asked to disqualify himself due to his possible financial interest, Mallano provided a sketchy picture of how the funds were raised for the IASCJA.

"Judges often participated on their own time in writing articles for various bar groups and assisted in lawyer-orientation programs, seminars and the like with various bar associations. Often when judges declined payment for these services, the bar associations made donations to the judges' association," Mallano said. Former presiding judge Parkin confirms Mallano's explanation of the LASCJA account to Insight, adding, "I think one judge edited a book or something and contributed the $20,000 he made into the account." According to Parkin, taxes never were paid on any of the funds going into the account.