Former CBS chief Leslie Moonves agreed on February 5 to pay an $11,250 fine for allegedly trying to sway the former Los Angeles Police Department chief, NBC News reported.
Newly released legal documents show Moonves tried to influence former Los Angeles Police Department Detective Corey Palka in a criminal investigation. according to Go to NBC News. The investigation details allegations that Moonves sexually assaulted a former employee of his. The Los Angeles City Ethics Commission, which released these documents, fined Moonves for violating the city's ethics code.
Mr. Palka, then head of the Los Angeles Police Department's Hollywood Division, shared with Mr. Moonves confidential details of the LAPD investigation into allegations made by former employee Phyllis Gottlieb, the newspaper reported.
“They met for approximately an hour to discuss the LAPD's investigation,” the ethics brief states, according to NBC News. “This meeting was not part of an official investigation by the Los Angeles Police Department.”
Former CBS chief Les Moonves has agreed to pay $11,250 for trying to influence a former police chief who allegedly leaked inside information about the former CBS chief's sexual assault investigation. https://t.co/GpRpYkpToc
— NBC News (@NBCNews) February 17, 2024
The Ethics Commission's investigation revealed that Moonves and Palka met at a Westlake Village restaurant in November 2017 to discuss the Los Angeles Police Department's investigation, which was outside the scope of the official investigation. This was followed by a text exchange in December in which the incident was also said to have been discussed.
According to the newspaper, Gottlieb accused Moonves of assaulting her in 1986 while she was working at an entertainment company. The report said the charges were reported to the Los Angeles Police Department in 2017, but the statute of limitations had passed and possible criminal charges were avoided.
As NBC4's I-Team reported, Palka previously claimed he was not aware of any allegations of leaking information to Moonves or CBS executives. These actions first came to light in an insider trading settlement involving Moonves and the New York Attorney General's Office.
The Los Angeles Police Department announced in November 2022 that it will begin an internal investigation into Palca's alleged leaking of information to Moonves. Police Commissioner William Briggs expressed his anger at the situation. (Related: Biden Justice Department finally charges IRS consultant for allegedly leaking tax information to journalists)
“I am beyond outraged,” Briggs said, according to NBC News. “This is an alarming example of what some people call old-fashioned nepotism, which goes to the heart of corruption.”
Moonves and Palka's relationship reportedly dates back to when Palka served as security guard for Moonves at the Grammy Awards from 2008 to 2014. The New York State Attorney General's Office said in 2022 that Moonves' intervention in the Los Angeles Police Department's investigation violated insider trading laws. That included hiding negative information from investors and the general public, NBC News reported. As a result, Moonves agreed to a $30.5 million fine, the newspaper said.
Moonves resigned from CBS in 2018 following sexual assault allegations by at least 12 women, all of which he denied.
