Los Angeles mayor Antonio Villaraigosa said Friday he has agreed to pay $42,000 in fines for accepting free tickets to events, including the Oscars and LA Lakers basketball games. Villaraigosa has defended accepting tickets from people who do business with the city, saying he was performing ceremonial duties and that the free tickets would not influence contractual decisions.
An investigation by the Fair Political Practices Commission and City Ethics Commission found that Villaraigosa had acted in good faith in accepting events during his first five years in office. Elected officials are required by California state law to report all gifts with a value of $50 or more. Villaraigosa failed to report 21 such gifts from 2005-09, the FPPC found. But Villaraigosa, who became mayor in 2005 and was re-elected for a second term in 2009, said he took responsibility for having failed to abide by the rules.
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