U.S. Attorney Seeks Records of Harbor Meetings

The U.S. attorney’s office has ordered Los Angeles to turn over records from closed meetings of the Harbor Commission as part of its probe into contracting practices at the city’s port, airport and Water and Power departments.

The subpoena, dated April 26, requires officials to turn over notes from three meetings last year, including one at which Mayor James K. Hahn’s chief of staff, Tim McOsker, met with port commissioners without the city attorney, who usually attends.

Deputy Mayor Doane Liu, who oversees the harbor, said the particular lease discussed on the days in question -- Oct. 22, Nov. 12 and Dec. 17 -- was a complicated transaction that had caused some controversy.

But, he said, “There is nothing sinister. There is nothing illegal. There is nothing improper.”

For months, Dist. Atty. Steve Cooley and U.S. Atty. Debra Yang have been gathering documents and calling witnesses to testify before grand juries amid accusations that contracts were issued in exchange for campaign contributions.

In March, prosecutors began subpoenaing port officials, including Executive Director Larry Keller. Federal officials have declined to comment.

Liu said he did not know what prosecutors were investigating. But he said they would find nothing improper in the leasing process for the so-called Matson Terminals site at the harbor.

He said the mayor’s office had intervened in a Harbor Commission decision to move forward with a particular company because the office wanted to work with another shipping line, Evergreen Marine Corp.

Part of that Taiwan-based conglomerate had agreed to move some cargo operations to Ontario Airport, he said, and the mayor’s office wanted the city to “build a long-term relationship with the company.”

But the intervention confused some port commissioners. So officials decided to start the process over with a new request for proposals, Liu said.

“We did everything we thought was proper,” said Commissioner Camilla Kocol. The investigation is “a distraction,” she said. “I wish, whatever it is that people were after, they would find it and get it over with.”