L.A. Unified manager indicted for alleged conflict of interest - latimes.com

L.A. Unified manager indicted for alleged conflict of interest - latimes.com

L.A. Unified manager indicted for alleged conflict of interest

A grand jury says subcontractor Bassam Raslan steered business from the huge school-building effort to a firm he co-owned. The district is criticized for failing to step in.

A grand jury has indicted a top Los Angeles Unified School District manager for allegedly funneling business from the district's massive school-building effort to a company he co-owned, highlighting possible flaws in the way one of the nation's largest public-works projects has been overseen.

The indictment charges Bassam Raslan with nine counts, accusing him of conflict of interest. But it also takes the school district to task for failing to prevent the alleged crime even though it knew of his interest in the company.

"LAUSD management knew of this but did not direct Mr. Raslan's supervisors to take action or implement specific policies to prevent" the conflict, the grand jury said. "LAUSD senior management did not implement any effective means of preventing conflict of interest other than relying on those committing the crime to self report."

The indictment comes three years after a Times investigation raised questions about the ability of Raslan's company to win lucrative school district contracts while he worked as a regional director of construction.

Details about the contracts, including how much money was involved, remained under seal Thursday, and prosecutors said they could not provide more information because state law prevents them from discussing secret grand jury testimony.

L.A. Unified hired Raslan, 52, to help oversee its $20-billion school construction effort. He worked as subcontactor rather than adistrict employee. The district has relied heavily on contractors to supervise construction, defending the practice as a way to attract higher-quality employees while providing the flexibility to quickly increase or reduce their numbers as needed.

The indictment is the latest black eye for L.A. Unified's building program. An internal audit completed last year found that consultants working for the program cost taxpayers 70% more than if