Ethics commission rejects Les Moonves’ $11K settlement for his role in LAPD investigation

The Los Angeles City Ethics Commission rejected a proposed settlement between the city and former CBS CEO Les Moonves after he was accused of interfering with a police investigation into sexual assault allegations against him.

Moonves had agreed to pay an $11,250 fine last week to settle the Ethics Commission complaint, which alleged the former Tiffany Network boss worked closely with a police department official to obtain information about a sexual assault victim’s confidential police report.

Even though the Ethics Commission staff worked with Moonves on the proposed settlement, it still needed approval by the volunteer panel that oversees the commission, the Los Angeles Times reported Wednesday.

The commissioners felt that the “extremely egregious nature of the allegations” warranted a stiffer penalty, Ethics Commission president Jeffrey Daar said.

A rep for Moonves declined to comment.

According to documents from the commission released last Friday, the former CEO acknowledged working closely with then-Capt. Cory Palka of the LAPD in 2017 to get details of the police report.

Palka — who had provided private security for Moonves between 2008 and 2014 at the Grammy Awards, which CBS produced — notified network officials about the complaint against the exec in November 2017, the documents reveal.

They said Palka gave Moonves an unredacted copy of the police report, which also included personal information such as the home address and phone number of the accuser. Moonves also met with Palka for an hour at a restaurant to discuss the complaint and ways to quash it, according to the documents.

The allegations of interference first came to light in the New York attorney general’s bombshell 2022 settlement with CBS parent Paramount Global and Moonves.

The $30.5 million settlement was announced alongside the results of an investigation that found Moonves had been tipped off to the LAPD investigation by Palka. It also revealed that former CBS communications chief Gil Schwartz allegedly sold millions of dollars worth of stock before the sexual assault claims went public.

Moonves resigned from CBS in 2018 after at least 12 women, including television executive Phyllis Golden-Gottlie, accused him of sexually assaulting them.

Golden-Gottlie, who died in 2022, went public with her accusations in 2018, claiming that Moonves assaulted her while she worked for him in 1986.

Some of the other accusers said Moonves forced sex acts on them while others said he retaliated professionally when they rejected his advances.

Moonves has denied all the allegations.

Since then, the LA Ethics Commission has accused Moonves of three violations of city rules.

Palka retired in 2021 as a commander after nearly 35 years with the LAPD.

LA’s Government Ethics Ordinance governs the conduct of city employees and forbids them from misusing or disclosing confidential info obtained through their work.

The ethics findings revealed that Palka also texted Moonves after he resigned from CBS.

“I’m deeply sorry this happened,” Palka said, according to the documents. ”I will always stand with, by, and pledge my allegiance to you.”