Baca: Hollywood's sheriff?

Lawman criticized over perceived celeb favoritism

San Gabriel Valley Tribune/June 24, 2007
By Troy Anderson

The public frenzy swirling around the impending release from jail of Paris Hilton has again put Sheriff Lee Baca's ties to Tinseltown in the spotlight.

Long known for his penchant to hobnob with the rich and famous, the jet-setting Los Angeles County sheriff has repeatedly been described as starstruck and accused of giving preferential treatment to celebrities.

Baca, who lives in San Marino, faces what is expected to be a tough grilling this week by the Board of Supervisors over his handling of the Hilton case, especially his decision to send her home in defiance of a judge's direction after she had served just three days of her 45-day sentence over driving offenses.

The scrutiny comes as campaign contributions to Baca from Hollywood hotshots hit more than $90,000 last year - nearly 14 percent of all his campaign donations.

In the past three years, Hollywood has given more than $270,000 to Baca's war chest.

Bob Stern, president of the Center for Governmental Studies, and others have suggested there are less than noble reasons for Hollywood's monetary support.

"Why does Hollywood want to give money to the sheriff? I suppose they want to be on the good side of the sheriff. I call this insurance money. If you get in trouble, you can call your buddy the sheriff."

Baca was in Turkey last week attending a conference on global security, but spokesman Steve Whitmore insisted Baca treats everyone the same - regardless of celebrity status.

"This is L.A.," Whitmore said. "The mayor, the City Council and other elected officials all have people in show business who donate to their campaigns.

"And where does the sheriff's jurisdiction lie? Malibu, West Hollywood and Universal City. Where do a lot of successful people in Hollywood live? Malibu and West Hollywood. And they are obviously pleased with the job he is doing.

"As I said before, when all the dust settles, people will see that the sheriff made the right decision regarding this particular inmate and it was made without fear, favor or prejudice."

Political analyst Sherry Bebitch Jeffe, a senior scholar at the University of Southern California School of Policy, Planning and Development, said Baca has long been known as the "Sheriff to the Stars."

"Whether or not he consciously gives celebrities preferential treatment, when you link \ the perception is he does give celebrities preferential treatment," Jeffe said.

"And in politics, perception is as important as reality."

A review of Hollywood's campaign contributions to Baca shows they rose from $37,250 - or 5 percent of $703,162 in total contributions in 2005 - to $90,150, or 14 percent of $660,708 in total contributions last year.

That percentage is also nearly triple the proportion of campaign donations Baca received from Hollywood in 2004 when he and other elected officials campaigned unsuccessfully to raise the county's sales tax a half-percent.

Baca, who spearheaded that campaign, raised $2.9 million for the effort, with $142,109, or 5 percent, coming from Hollywood that year.

Raphael Sonenshein, a political science professor at Cal State Fullerton, said the amount of contributions Baca received from Hollywood stars, producers and others in the industry is significant.

"Maybe all this hobnobbing with celebrities made him sort of get to the point where he does have particular sympathies for celebrities," Sonenshein said. "That raises a lot of hackles with the public.

"Being around celebrities distorts everyone's thinking. You start thinking, `They are not such bad folks, these celebrities."'

Baca, one of the highest-paid elected officials in the nation with an annual salary of $259,587, also has received $45,632 in gifts since he was elected in late 1998.

This includes at least $3,700 worth of gifts from Hollywood stars including singer Chaka Khan, golfing partner Beverly Hills Dr. Gary Alter, and actors Michael Douglas and Steven Seagal.

In recent years, Baca has attended the Academy Awards show, held fundraisers at upscale Beverly Hills locations, issued concealed-weapon permits to celebrities and opened up his department to several reality TV shows including "The Academy" and "The Assignment."

He's also ridden on a Church of Scientology float during the Hollywood Christmas Parade, participated in a Scientology-organized fundraiser, written a letter in support of a permit for the Narconon drug treatment program based on Scientology Founder L. Ron Hubbard's teachings and spoken at Scientology gatherings.

Some of Scientology's most famous members include Hollywood celebs Tom Cruise, John Travolta and Lisa Marie Presley.

And campaign contributors read like a "Who's Who" list of Hollywood movers and shakers - from DreamWorks executives David Geffen, Steven Spielberg and Jeffrey Katzenberg to actor Dustin Hoffman and "All in the Family" producer Norman Lear.

Other contributing luminaries include actor Jack Nicholson, News Corp. Executive Rupert Murdoch, actress Barbra Streisand, Imagine Entertainment Producer Brian Grazer and Walt Disney Co. President Robert A. Iger.

Since 2004, Baca also has received $3,000 in donations from Hilton Hotels Corp. owner William Barron Hilton, Co-chairman William B. Hilton and Chief Executive Officer Stephen F. Bollenbach, campaign reports show.

Whitmore said those contributions had no impact on Baca's treatment of Paris Hilton and her stay in prison.

"I would be even surprised if he knew the specifics about each donor," Whitmore said. "He's the last person who wants to be a celebrity or be connected to celebrities. He just wants to be the best possible sheriff he can for the county."

Jeffrey Prang, mayor pro tem of West Hollywood and special assistant to the sheriff, said Baca doesn't do any special favors for celebrities and doesn't even know Hilton.

"She has served much more time than someone with similar offenses," Prang said. "Nobody wants jail inmates released early, but there is not enough jail space and the department is under a federal consent decree.

"Everybody would like Paris to serve her full sentence, but not to be melodramatic, when you have to choose between Paris Hilton and a gang member convicted of violent crimes, the choice is pretty clear. The option of keeping everybody in for a full term is not available at this point, unless the public is willing to pay for such a justice system."

But a controversy similar to the Hilton dust-up erupted last summer after actor Mel Gibson was arrested for drunken driving. At the time, critics also questioned whether Baca gave preferential treatment to the star.

Political analyst Rich Lichtenstein said it appears Baca has made a concerted effort to reach out to the Hollywood community.

"There are always security-type issues, which those people and organizations have special needs for," Lichtenstein said. "Because of their high profile - whether it's Paris Hilton, Mel Gibson or Baron Hilton - they are high-profile people and one can easily conclude they are more security conscious than the rest of us. As a result, they want to have access, or communication with law enforcement.

"Does that mean the sheriff goes out and does private security? Of course not. But if there are issues surrounding special guests and events, there is probably greater attentiveness when a phone call is made."

Baca's treasurer Cary Davidson, who has spent three decades as a campaign treasurer, said celebrities often contribute to politicians' campaigns.

"They are politically-active people - whether it's producers, directors, the actual actors and singers," Davidson said. "They invite a lot of people to fund-raisers and included among those are some celebrities."

Jack Pitney, a political science professor at Claremont McKenna College, said that even though Baca is a "fairly aggressive fundraiser," it doesn't mean there's a quid pro quo for famous contributors.

And he said the criminal justice system in Los Angeles County has a long history of giving celebrities a break.

"Paris Hilton and Mel Gibson are not exactly the first celebrities to misbehave," Pitney said. "Even aside from the campaign contributions, the industry has a great deal of influence and economic power. Some of it is just the allure of glamor.

"What we see in Los Angeles County is just a special case of a more general phenomenon where all over the world wealthy and influential people sometimes get breaks the rest of us don't get."