Former CBS president and CEO Les Moonves has agreed to pay a $11,250 fine for allegedly trying to influence an ex-Los Angeles Police Department captain who was apparently leaking internal information about a sexual assault probe into himself.
Moonves tried to sway former LAPD Captain Corey Palka in a criminal investigation alleging that the ex-CBS CEO sexually assaulted a former employee, according to legal documents obtained by NBC News.
The former chief executive reportedly agreed to pay a $11,250 fine earlier this month, after the Los Angeles City Ethics Commission penalized him for violating the city’s ethics regulations.
Palka, who was serving as head of the department’s Hollywood Division in 2017, had pledged his allegiance to Moonves and leaked confidential information to him about a criminal probe in which Moonves had been accused of sexually assaulting former employee, Phyllis Gottlieb.
The Ethics Commission cited a November 2017 meeting between Moonves and Palka at a restaurant in Westlake Village, where the two allegedly talked about confidential information involving the LAPD probe.
“They met for about an hour and discussed the LAPD investigation,” the ethics summary said. “The meeting was not part of the official investigation by the LAPD.”
That meeting was reportedly followed up with text messages in December that involved further discussion of the case.
In 2017 — the year the #MeToo movement gained strong momentum — Gottlieb claimed that Moonves assaulted her in 1986 when she was employed at an entertainment firm. The statute of limitations, however, had expired, meaning that criminal charges would not transpire.
The LAPD announced in November 2022 that it was launching an internal investigation into Palka’s alleged leaks.
“I am beyond outraged,” Police Commissioner William Briggs said. “This is a stunning example of what some refer to as old-time cronyism, that goes to the heart of corruption.”
Moonves and Palka’s connection dates as far back to 2008, when Palka worked as Moonves’ security guard at the Grammy Awards until 2014, the Ethics finding noted.
In 2022, the New York Attorney General’s Office said the former CBS CEO’s interference with the LAPD investigation amounted to a breach of the state’s insider trading laws, as Moonves allegedly benefited by concealing negative information from investors and the public.
“As a publicly traded company, CBS failed its most basic duty to be honest and transparent with the public and investors,” New York Attorney General Letitia James said.
It was also reported that Moonves had agreed to pay a $30.5 million fine as a result of that.
Moonves ended up resigning from CBS in 2018 after facing sexual assault allegations from at least 12 women, all of which the ex-CBS executive has denied.
You can follow Alana Mastrangelo on Facebook and X/Twitter at @ARmastrangelo, and on Instagram.
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