By Derek Lipkin
BRUIN SENIOR STAFF
dlipkin@media.ucla.edu
For schools such as UCLA, it is fairly common practice to use
outside consulting firms to find suitable candidates for positions
within the university, according to a university official.
Even so, before using Askanas Consulting to conduct a reference
check on Fredderick Brito, the UCLA Department of External Affairs
had not used an outside firm in the last five years, said Peter
Hayashida, vice chancellor of advancement services.
And though it may have been done in the past, the outsourcing of
reference checks is a process UCLA has not used a great deal, said
Carol Stogsdill, a spokeswoman for UCLA.
Brito, a convicted felon, was employed for six months by the
Department of External Affairs to raise funds as executive director
of development and patient relations for the digestive diseases
division in the David Geffen School of Medicine. He went by the
alias Federiqkoe DiBritto at UCLA to hide his criminal past.
Brito was arrested on April 21 for a violation of his parole for
not reporting a previous felony and was released from UCLA on the
same day.
Officials have said there is no evidence of any wrongdoing by
Brito during his time at UCLA.
His criminal history includes convictions for felony
embezzlement, felony grand theft and forgery. He had used aliases
to work in numerous positions over a period of more than 20 years,
including as a psychiatrist for a Los Angeles County public
defender, a priest and as managing director of a small non-profit
firm.
It was the first time that Askanas Consulting was used by UCLA
to outsource reference checks, Stogsdill said. She also said it was
unlikely the university would use the firm again.
The current university-wide policy for background checks says
they are only used for certain positions at UCLA that involve
“critical and sensitive functions,” such as those that
involve handling of university resources and finances, access to
buildings with master keys or access to information that could
affect national security, among several other requirements.
The decision to use a background check is made by the department
heads, or their designees.
Officials changed the policy for the external affairs department
in response to the Brito situation to require all potential
external affairs employees to go through background checks.
According to the UC Personnel Policies for Staff Members, a
background check can include, but is not limited to,
“confirmation of an individual’s identity, review of an
individual’s criminal conviction record, if any, or
verification of any license, certificate, or degree required for
appointment.”
For positions such as vice chancellor or dean, the chancellor is
in charge of ordering background checks, Hayashida said.
The chancellor, who is employed by the UC Board of Regents, is
subject to a background check from the regents, Hayashida said.
The University of California also often uses outside
professional recruiters to hire executive personnel in many
cases.
UCLA is currently undergoing an internal audit of its hiring
policies, though it began prior to the Brito arrest, said UCLA
spokesman Lawrence Lokman.
Hayashida said no changes would be made to the policy directly
because of the Brito situation, and that the policy will be
implemented by fall quarter, but did not release any information
regarding the new policy.
The UCLA hiring policy lays out a procedure through which the UC
system-wide policy is
implemented.
Each individual UC campus is responsible for developing a
procedure for implementing the UC-wide hiring practices.
In a July interview, Brito expressed disbelief that UCLA
didn’t have this policy earlier.
“It’s unbelievable that Fred Brito comes and now
they institute a policy that should have been instituted years and
years ago,” Brito said, referring to the revised background
checks for external affairs.
“Especially after 9/11 … you never know who you’re
going to get.”
With reports from Shaun Bishop, Bruin senior staff.