Steve Lopez: L.A. CATCHING UP TO CHICAGO IN SLEAZE
A University of Illinois study finds that we're the second most corrupt region in the U.S., due to an oversized helping of election crimes, conflicts of interest and other dirty deeds.
STEVE LOPEZ, LA TIMES COLUMNIST | HTTP://LAT.MS/Z39TMG
February 26, 2012 :: Panning for gold in the local cesspool is always lucrative, but it's been one fat nugget after another lately.
We've got Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa marketing himself for his next job before he finishes this one; City Atty. Carmen Trutanich insisting he's not the liar he appears to be; auto painters at the DWP making $109,192 a year while the agency guns for a rate hike; and Los Angeles County Assessor John Noguez under investigation for an alleged scandal involving tax breaks for clients represented by his friend.
And now comes a study revealing that Greater Los Angeles is the second most corrupt metro region in the United States.
We cannot accept this, folks. With just a little more effort, I think we can knock Chicago off the top of the leader board.
In the "most corrupt" study, by University of Illinois professor Dick Simpson and his colleagues, our No. 2 ranking has a lot to do with