Report: Baca Orders Investigation Against Tenant Of Donor
LOS ANGELES (AP) —Los Angeles County Sheriff Lee Baca directed detectives to launch a criminal investigation against a tenant of one of his well-connected supporters and contributors, a report published Sunday said.
The department's investigation, prompted by a handwritten note from Baca, targeted a man in a Beverly Hills rental dispute with Ezat Delijani, a longtime Baca donor.
The sheriff sent the note with his request to his chief of detectives, who gave it a special "rush" status normally reserved for serious crimes, the Times said.
The note, written on a printed e-mail from Delijani's son, read: "Chief Miller -- This case involves a 'lease forgery.' Could you have our people investigate this."
The 2008 dispute involved Delijani and a pharmacist named Afshin Nassir. Nassir requested reimbursements for tenant improvements that he had paid for, and produced a lease to prove it. Delijani and his attorneys claimed the lease was forged.
The investigation was outside Baca's jurisdiction and according to records Beverly Hills police had already determined that the dispute was a civil matter and a criminal investigation was not called for.
Baca told the newspaper in an interview he had little personal involvement in the probe and Delijani received no special treatment.
He said that the incursion was necessary because allegations of lease forgery were "too complicated" for the Beverly Hills Police Department.
That assertion was dismissed by Beverly Hills police, who handle many forgery cases.
"I'm trying not to say anything that sounds inflammatory," Police Sgt. Shan Davis said. "That's not a fair characterization."
Sheriff's detectives investigated for four months then submitted their findings to prosecutors, who said there was insufficient evidence to file criminal charges.
A civil jury later found that Delijani owed his tenant no money.
Delijani, an Iranian immigrant and real-estate developer, is a major political contributor in Los Angeles County.
He gave Baca hundreds of dollars in gifts -- mostly wine and liquor -- and thousands in political donations between 2005 and 2009.
Baca told the Times "I like Mr. Delijani" but that communication between the two had no more effect on his policing than any other public contact he has.
"I get more calls from the Joe Shmoes out on the street than any law enforcement figure in California," Baca said.
(© Copyright 2010 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)
