by John M. Curtis
(310) 204-8700

Copyright June 22, 2007
All Rights Reserved.

lamboyant and upwardly mobile Los Angeles City Atty. Rocky Delgadillo, who ran in Nov. 2006 unsuccessfully against former governor and now State Atty. Gen. Jerry Brown, finds himself in hot water, accused of various ethical lapses. Delgadillo jumped into the Paris Hilton fray, accusing LA County Sheriff Lee Baca of playing celebrity favorites after reassigning her to home detention from women's Century Regional Detention Center in Lynwood, CA. Hilton was arrested Sept. 7, 2006 for D.U.I. and convicted Jan. 22 of “reckless driving” and placed on 36 months probation. When she was arrested twice for driving on a suspended license, LA Superior Court Judge Michael T. Sauer sentenced her May 4 to 45 days in county jail. When Paris began serving her sentence on June 5 and mentally deteriorated, Baca released her to home detention—a prerogative of the sheriff.

      When Delgadillo got word of Paris' reassignment, he threatened to file charges against Baca for contempt of court. Delgadillo said nothing about the sheriff's usual and customary role of modifying sentences on a variety of inmates for a host of reasons, including overcrowding, medical conditions and time off for good behavior. Thousands of LA County Jail inmates get sentences modified without Delgadillo complaining, hauling inmates back to court and imposing stiffer sentences. Actress Michelle Rodriguez, who had multiple DUIs and hit-and-runs, only served one day in jail. Delgadillo had no problem letting “Blackhawk Down” star Tom Sizemore off the hook without jail time, despite multiple arrests for methamphetamine abuse. Yet Delgadillo insisted he was applying “equal justice” demanding the 26-year-old hotel heiress do 45 days in county jail.

      Delgadillo complained Hilton got preferential treatment, questioning, “What's the point of prosecuting.” In reality, it's not typical for first-time reckless driving offenders to have driver licenses suspended. When Hilton was arrested Sept. 7, 2006 for DUI with a minimum blood-alcohol level of .08, her attorney Howard Weitzman plea-bargained to “reckless driving.” Paris was already punished excessively losing her license. Delgadillo didn't object to his 36-year-old wife Michelle, escaping justice for almost nine years, after a Santa Monica Superior Court judge issued a bench warrant Aug. 1, 1998 for driving without insurance on suspended license in an unregistered vehicle. No action was taken against Michelle, when, in 2005, she was cited for failing to obey a right turn only sign on a suspended license. More recently, Michelle crashed Delgadillo's city-leased Yukon SUV, costing the city over $1,200.

      Once discovered, Delgadillo reimbursed the County $1,222, only to find out he had been driving without valid insurance for the past year. For nine years, Michelle avoided jail time on an outstanding bench warrant, only recently resolved June 21, pleading no contest, paying $430 in fines and accepting nine months probation. For some unknown reason, despite Michelle's infractions, she eluded the bench warrant. When Baca exercised his discretion and released Paris to home detention June 7, Delgadillo went through the roof, dragging her back to court June 9 and forcing her to serve out her 45-day sentence. Now Rocky is being investigated by the State's Ethics Commission and Bar for driving without insurance, allowing his wife to drive a city-owned vehicle without a valid drivers license and using his paid staff to baby sit his children and run extraneous errands.

      Instead of grabbing the headlines, Delegadillo should have shown more humility about his personal foibles. There's nothing so terrible about his or his wife's mistakes but when juxtaposed against his righteousness about Paris, it reeks of grandiosity and pretence. No one got more preferential treatment than his wife Michelle, eluding the law for nine years. “Paris was driving drunk, was on probation . . . she violated the probation more than once,” said Delgadillo, excusing his actions with Paris and his wife's conduct. “My wife was driving with a suspended license and then she was issued a ticket. She was never driving drunk,” misrepresenting Paris' actual conviction of “reckless driving.” Delgadillo's wife drove on suspended license with a bench warrant over her head, cited for ticket, paid a $186 fine and was never brought to justice. If that's not special treatment, then what is?

      Looking too far down the road, Delgadillo fell into an avoidable pothole. His arrogance and self-importance blinded him from managing the more mundane activity of insuring his car and the common sense of avoiding mixing business and pleasure. Having City Attorney staff baby sit or run personal errands shows the extent to which the Harvard Law graduate let his grandiosity eclipse his better judgment. Unable to handle elected office, Delgadillo shows he lacks the maturity for higher office. “I mishandled the situation, and I apologize. I take full responsibility,” said Delgadillo in a carefully pasrsed mea culpa. While apologizing for his wife, he hasn't begun to take responsibility for using his employees to baby-sit and run personal errands, showing disregard for elected office. Before he considers running for DA next year, he should take hard look at where he's gone wrong.

About the Author

John M. Curtis writes politically neutral commentary analyzing spin in national and global news. He's editor of OnlineColumnist.com and author of Dodging The Bullet and Operation Charisma.

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