Part 80: The Strange Tale of Captain Hollywood – Cory Palka and the Cover-up of Sexual Violence
Published February 21, 2024. Updated February 22, 2024.
Photo of the Los Angeles City Ethics Commission meeting at City Hall to discuss proposed settlements for violations by former CBS CEO Les Moonves and a subordinate in collusion with Cory Palka of the LAPD by author (GoPro Hero 11 Black).
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By Zachary Ellison, Independent Journalist
The case of Cory Palka continues, perhaps somewhere, more than a year past the disclosure by the New York Attorney General’s Office that the former Captain of the Hollywood Division that he had colluded with CBS CEO Les Moonves and Ian Metrose, the former Senior Vice President for Talent Relations & Special Events at the network, in order to deny justice to sexual assault victim Phyllis Golden-Gottlieb. This Wednesday the Los Angeles City Ethics Commission voted 4-0 on both Moonves and Metrose to “disapprove” of the proposed settlements for both, with a compulsory 25% reduction for Moonves and 50% reduction for Metrose because of their cooperation with the body’s investigation.
The maximum allowable fine is only $15,000 for the violation of the Governmental Ethics Ordinance, but the Commissioners were ultimately united in rejecting the agreements produced by the Director of Enforcement. The elephant in the room though, was the lack of any law enforcement against Palka, which now seems improbable as the LAPD has apparently cleared him of wrongdoing. A spokesman for the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California Ciaran McEvoy declined to comment on the matter, and things are in transition at the FBI, following the retirement of Assistant Director in Charge Donald Always on February 9, which has gone unreported in the local press.
This discovery was made on February 16, as I went where I usually go when I want to get a read on the nation’s highest-levels of law enforcement, LinkedIn, which along with press releases gives you an inside look at the most august members of the National Law Enforcement Community. Los Angeles Times journalist Richard Winton had previously reported that vaunted Federal prosecutor Mack Jenkins had joined the “probe” into Palka as the paper headlined, but according to the most recent report by Meg James from the Times on Palka alongside the Ethics Commission findings, LAPD “had completed its internal investigation.”
LAPD Media Relations would not provide me with the same information given to the Los Angeles Times including a legal justification described, stating only: “There is no statement at this time.” LAPD Chief Michel Moore previously denounced the conspiracy stating: “What is most appalling is the alleged breach of trust of a victim of sexual assault, who is among the most vulnerable, by a member of the LAPD. This erodes the public trust and is not reflective of our values as an organization.” The confusion about whether there still is any other investigation into Palka that would sway voting on Moonves and Metrose soon emerged with the Vice President Manjusha Kulkarni openly wondering about if justice was still possible.
The Ethics Commission Director of Enforcement is forbidden from disclosing those still under investigation. Only two members of the public spoke in-person for public comment, City Hall regulars Rob Quan and Wayne Spindler along with his Goat Puppet. Several more phoned into the 10th floor meeting in a conference room, one caller at one point referencing what I’ve repeatedly noted, and even petitioned to have investigated, that an LAPD “captain” calls Rick Caruso, former Mayoral candidate and President of the LAPD Police Commission directly on his cellphone in the civil case deposition regarding former USC gynecologist George Tyndall. Did Cory Palka do the same for Rick Caruso and USC as he had done for Les Moonves and CBS?
Even the Ethics Commission seemed unclear that if you hadn’t caught that bit in the Times article, you’d have no idea that the Palka investigation had concluded. The NY AG’s office had informed the office of California Attorney General Rob Bonta, and yet despite that final discipline has so far evidently fallen to the Ethics Commission, which only recently added Rabbi Aryeh Cohen, appointed by Controller Kenneth Mejia to complete the body. This came after Mejia’s initial choice, Jamie York was denied a seat by the Los Angeles City Council by a unanimous vote that prompted widespread speculation over the reasoning.
After the Commission rejected both the Moonves and Metrose settlements, York wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter, that the “Moonves and Metrose cases highlight the desperate need for Charter Ethics reform and to give more funding to Ethics to pursue these cases.” York continued by calling for an increase in the maximum fine limit: “We should not be stuck using fines from the 1990s that cannot increase without reform and City Council prioritizing this legislation.” Moonves is worth a reported $400 according to the website Celebrity Net Worth.
It's unclear what if any involvement the FBI ultimately may have or not had in investigating the matter, or what Jenkins may have said or decided in evidently not prosecuting Palka. A spokesman for the U.S. Attorney’s Office Ciaran McEvoy sent the following statement regarding the retirement of Don Alway: “During his 27-year career with the FBI, Don Alway was a faithful public servant and a valued partner to our office.” The statement from McEvoy continues: We are sorry to see him go, but we wish him well in retirement and we will fondly remember our shared commitment to protect the public and serve justice.”
The FBI LA field office issued only the date of his retirement on February 9, with spokeswoman Laura Eimiller later stating: “We actually never issue releases when people retire unless there's a reason to.” The agency’s Los Angeles field office is now being led by Acting Assistant Director in Charge Amir Ehsaei, who has led the Counterterrorism Division since April 28, 2020. According to the FBI press release, Ehsaei “began his career as an FBI special agent in 2004” and “deployed to Baghdad in 2010, leading an interagency team that interviewed members of a foreign terrorist organization.” The departure of Alway comes before a scheduled May 26 federal trial of attorney Tom Girardi, who previously headed the Girardi & Keese law firm, and whose romantic and professional relationship with his mother lead to his recusal from the investigation into Girardi.
Alway had co-ownership of a home in Carmel, California near the Central Coast, but was not heavily involved in the investigation according to a Los Angeles Times report by Matt Hamilton, with a spokeswoman for FBI LA saying in November 2022 the newly appointed ADIC had “requested recusal and has not and will not be involved in this or any related FBI matter.” Don Alway is a former L.A. County Sheriff’s Department deputy, University of Southern California alum, and had only assumed leadership of FBI LA on July 20, 2022 before becoming caught-up in the Girardi case the following November. There has been widespread speculation based on his resemblance that Tom Girardi is in fact the father of Alway, but no evidence has been published to sustain this allegation such as a birth certificate.
It's in doubt if it did exist whether it would even prove paternity. One source denied the claim, stating that it’s false, and I’m inclined to believe that despite the retirement photo Always posted on LinkedIn, with four other former ADIC’s of FBI LA on LinkedIn with him in the middle, by far the shortest and stout like Girardi with the other taller ADICs flanking him on both sides. In the posting, Alway writes: “Four former ADICs joined me in this photo, and I am lucky to know each of them !” and “Thanks for an amazing ride.” One thing is for sure, no matter the awkward circumstance perhaps avoided with a Girardi trial, what happened on Wednesday at LA City Hall with the Ethics Commission was representative of a lack of accountability in Los Angeles.
Whistleblower Kimberly Archie who exposed Girardi and the relationship between the mother of Alway and the now former FBI LA ADIC, noted there were 150 complaints made against Tom Girardi before the State Bar Association took action against him. That’s about as many times as I’ve seen the LAPD and LAFD come in response to fake 911 calls against anti-Scientology protesters in Hollywood. Deadline Hollywood noted this came up during the Ethics Commission during telephone comment, with journalist Dominic Patten writing that one speaker “also noted the current situation where the LAPD are arresting and detaining anti-Scientology protesters as an example of the consideration the department is seen to give to the rich and well connected.”
Cory Palka was known for cultivating close ties with the controversial Church of Scientology, including even installing a literature vending machine inside the Hollywood Community Police Station. The Church in an apparent strategy to discredit the ongoing protests against them has used this swatting technique with municipal resources as a form of intimidation. The three protestors arrested on Friday night at La Poubelle Bistro & Bar have now all been released, with the last one being let go today after the District Attorney’s office under George Gascón declined to pursue charges. LAPD released a statement Sunday night claiming that the three had conspired to commit a crime, and engaged in unlawful use of tear gas, stating: “multiple suspects whose actions were planned, organized and coordinated…for purposeful use against others upon confronting and baiting them into physical altercations.”
In Los Angeles, so often street crime goes heavily punished, while white collar crime passes on like normal. “Business as usual” as activists call it at City Hall. One prominent counter-example being the recent sentencing of José Huizar, the former LA City Councilmember to 13 years in prison. The fact that Cory Palka as of now will receive no fine, no jail time, not even a slap on the wrist of any kind contrasts strongly, and casts a shadow over Hollywood. Activist William Gude who kicked off and is prominent in the protests wrote about Palka on X: “He needs to go to jail.” Sadly, this wasn’t something the Ethics Commission could do, even if they seemingly would have wanted to in describing the gross breach of public trust under review.
Presumably Cory Palka isn’t talking about this, and I’ve yet to attempt to make contact, but were Palka to read this I’d hope he’d come to terms and accept an interview. The questions aren’t going away, particularly about whether the CBS case was the only corrupted one, and even as the DA’s office is supposedly reviewing that too, but has yet to make any statement on discoveries. Just weeks ago, I was the courthouse for the final date of the George Tyndall criminal case, and the frustration of the victims after more than five years had passed in never even going to trial seems so ironic on the sidewalk in front of La Poubelle, perhaps the only place people are openly condemning the LAPD along with the Church of Scientology.
The awkward nexus of these matters is the story of corruption in Los Angeles. It’s all over the leaked LA Fed Tapes that still represent the greatest officially unsolved “October Surprise” in American electoral history, with Nury Martinez and Kevin de León recalling conversations with current and former officials higher-up the chain in the prosecutor’s offices. Kevin de León, running for re-election says: “Over the weekend, I called a buddy of mine who is a former U.S. attorney.” To which Nury Martinez, who resigned over the leak from her post as President of the LA City Council quickly replies: “I have one of those, too. It’s good to have one of those.”
Les Moonves clearly had “one of those” with Cory Palka, and even as the Ethics Commissioners debated whether Metrose was really just an “intermediary,” I couldn’t help but smirk at them from the front row and mouth partly under my black bandana: “No, don’t do it” with a smile as it became apparent they wouldn’t simply accept the paltry settlements of $11,250 for Moonves and $7,500 hundred for Metrose. At the end of the two agenda items, in approving the motions to disapprove, they told the Director of Enforcement and assigned investigator that it wasn’t their fault, they hadn’t done anything wrong, but the lack of justice for Phyllis Golden-Gottlieb was something they couldn’t easily accept.
Golden-Gottlieb never got to live to see this day having passed away in July 2022 at the age of 86, nor were Moonves or Metrose in attendance at the meeting. Their places on the agenda were preceded by actions against developer Shawn Bayliss, the Valley Industry & Commerce Association and Stuart Waldman, who is the president of the business special interest group in the San Fernando Valley. Bayliss’s violation has halved, with only Rabbi Cohen stating objection and voting no, with the others receiving approval. Bayliss was found to have been in “receipt of compensation for attempting to influence City action less than 12 months after leaving City service.” VICA was fined for “failure to report as a lobbyist employer” and Waldman for the same as well as for not registering.
Shawn Bayliss is a former planning director for former Councilman Paul Koretz who participated in backdoor meetings to discuss projects with Rick Caruso, as well as then Caruso VP Sam Garrison, who would join Caruso at USC when he became Chairman of the Board of Trustees as his Chief of Staff before being promoted to Senior Vice President of University Relations under current USC President Carol Folt. Bayliss after leaving service under Koretz joined the Bel-Air Association, a developer’s group, and according to the Commission’s report: “When an investigator initially contacted him, asking him to identify any City matters that he had attempted to influence on behalf of BAA, his attorney at the time (not his current counsel) stated that Bayliss had not attempted to influence any City agency on behalf of BAA.”
One LA Fed Tapes, about Garrison, and the Mark Ridley-Thomas bribery case and George Tyndall sexual abuse case, both heavily involving USC, Kevin de León describes his conversation with Garrison before the meeting at the Los Angeles County Federation of Labor, AFL-CIO, the LA Fed: “That what they’re doing has legs, just keep it going, just keep it going, just keep it going.” For Bayliss at least, those legs ran out today, even as the LAPD’s investigation into the leak continues nominally into Santos Leon and his spouse Karla Vasquez, the former Director of Finance for the labor union, and Vasquez who was the executive assistant for former LA Fed President Ron Herrera. It’s unclear if LAPD ever requested FBI assistance in the investigation, with the LA Fed’s private investigators discovering recording software sometime between January 2023 and July 2023.
What happens next in regards to Cory Palka is anyone’s guess. After the NY AG disclosure, which was repeatedly referenced by the Commissioners on Friday, Palka deleted his X account, but not before I secured a picture of him and former USC President Max Nikias along with USC Department of Public Safety Officers at USC. Did Palka call up Rick Caruso after the Tyndall investigation as the Knock LA transcript describes? LAPD has repeatedly declined to comment on the matter, nor has it located any record in response to my California Public Records Request that would document the call to Caruso’s cellphone as part of any investigation. Don Always may be out of the FBI, and Palka may still be at home, but the silent unease in the conference room was both profound and deafening. FBI Director Christopher Wray will appoint a successor.
Link: LA City Ethics Commission Agenda for February 21, 2024
Link: Federal prosecutor joins LAPD probe into handling of Les Moonves sex assault allegations
Link: Former CBS chief Leslie Moonves to pay $11,250 fine to settle L.A. ethics case
Link: Les Moonves Net Worth
Link: Jamie York X Post
Link: William Gude X Post
Link: LAPD Press Release on Protest Arrests
Link: There’s a war going on’: L.A. anti-Scientology protests bring arrests, attack allegations
Link: Pay-to-Play in the City of Los Angeles
Link: Inside the room: The entire L.A. City Council racist audio leak, annotated by our experts
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Zachary Ellison is an Independent Journalist and Whistleblower in the Los Angeles area. Zach was most recently employed by the University of Southern California, Office of the Provost from October 2015 to August 2022 as an Executive Secretary and Administrative Assistant supporting the Vice Provost for Academic Operations and the Vice Provost and Senior Advisor to the Provost among others. Zach holds a Master’s in Public Administration and a Graduate Certificate in Sustainable Policy and Planning from the USC Sol Price School of Public Policy. While a student at USC, he worked for the USC Good Neighbors Campaign including on their newsletter distributed university-wide. Zach completed his B.A. in History at Reed College, in Portland, Oregon and was a writer, editor, and photographer for the Pasadena High School Chronicle. He was Barack Obama’s one-millionth online campaign contributor in 2008. Zach is a former AmeriCorps intern for Hawaii State Parks and worked for the City of Manhattan Beach Parks and Recreation. He is a trained civil process server, and enjoys weekends in the great outdoors.
