Real estate project’s future uncertain

Los Angeles City Councilman Jack Weiss said he will oppose
Casden Properties’ plan for the construction of a
multimillion dollar project in Westwood, after the firm’s
vice president and a group of subcontractors working with the firm
were indicted by the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s
Office for conspiring to violate campaign financing laws.

Casden Properties is a real estate development firm that has
several large projects in the Los Angeles area.

The 14 defendants in the case have each been charged with one
count of conspiracy to commit campaign law violations.

All pleaded not guilty at their Los Angeles Superior Court
arraignment Nov. 24.

Los Angeles campaign financing laws limit an individual from
making contributions over $1,000 to a candidate or campaign, and
the defendants are accused of exceeding this limit.

John Archibald, vice president of Casden Properties, tried to
get around the law by telling the subcontractors to have friends,
family, employees and associates make campaign contributions that
would be reimbursed by Casden Properties, according to the
indictment.

Campaign donor cards were then marked with “Casden”
to let candidates know Casden Properties was the actual source of
these campaign contribution checks.

The contributions were allegedly given to City Council members
Jack Weiss and Wendy Greuel, 2001 mayoral candidate Kathleen
Connell and City Attorney Rocky Delgadillo. Those who allegedly
received the contributions are not being charged.

Casden Properties is currently working on plans to build Palazzo
Westwood, a $100 million residential and commercial development in
Westwood.

After the indictment was made public, Weiss announced he would
oppose Casden Properties’ plans for the development,
partially due to the charges, according to a Los Angeles Times
article published on Nov. 25.

Some Westwood residents believe Weiss may still allow plans for
Palazzo Westwood to go through and said they are critical of both
Weiss and Casden.

Westwood resident Bernard Weintraub believes Weiss is “in
Casden’s pocket,” and that the councilman will not
follow through with his plan to oppose the construction of Palazzo
Westwood.

A number of Westwood homeowners have signs reading “Jack
Weiss Stop Casden” posted in front of their yards, and some
of these homeowners say Weiss’ judgments are swayed by
campaign contributions from Casden Properties.

According to the indictment, the conspiracy organized by
Archibald was meant to gain favor from contribution recipients, and
homeowners allege the indictment is further proof of political
favor Weiss may have given the firm.

Weintraub said he hopes the indictment will decrease the power
Casden Properties has over the Westwood community.

Alan Casden, president of Casden Properties, is not one of the
defendants involved in the case.

Though Casden is not a defendant, he is a target in the
investigation, said Sandi Gibbons, a spokeswoman for the District
Attorney’s Office.

According to the L.A. Times article, Casden believes the
indictment is unwarranted, and that Archibald will be proven
innocent.

“Homeowners are up in arms that Weiss is allowing (Casden)
to basically do what he wants because he’s contributed money
to Weiss,” said Ellen Turner, a Westwood resident.

The indictment against Casden Properties is part of an ongoing
investigation led by District Attorney Steve Cooley.

Cooley’s goal is to “assure the integrity of the
elective process,” according to a District Attorney’s
Office statement.

“When Mr. Cooley was elected, he vowed to form a unit to
prosecute cases involving political corruption,” Gibbons
said.

“There (are) a lot of investigations pending, and this is
one of them,” the spokeswoman said.