SACRAMENTO — Citing allegations in an FBI affidavit, California's ethics watchdog agency notified state Sen. Kevin de León on Thursday that it may investigate whether he improperly directed money to a nonprofit tied to Sen. Ronald S. Calderon.
The affidavit alleges that De León, a Los Angeles Democrat, arranged a $25,000 contribution from a Legislature-related political fund to a group run by a brother of Calderon (D-Montebello), to help resolve a dispute among lawmakers. Calderon is under federal investigation, accused of taking bribes.
On Thursday, the state Fair Political Practices Commission sent a letter to De León saying that the agency "may initiate an investigation into a donation you may have directed."
An inquiry, the letter said, would look at whether the donation should have been disclosed differently in filings with the state or may have violated a regulation barring politicians from controlling certain kinds of funds.
De León has until Dec. 15 to respond, according to the letter from the FPPC's enforcement chief.
De León's chief of staff, Dan Reeves, said in a statement Thursday that the senator "did not ask that any contribution be made, nor did he recommend that a contribution be made to any Calderon-related organization" to end the dispute.
"We are confident that the FPPC inquiry will be resolved once they gather the facts," Reeves said.
The federal affidavit, which was made public in October by the cable network Al Jazeera, alleges that De León directed money from Yes We Can, a political action committee affiliated with the California Legislative Latino Caucus, to the Calderon nonprofit, Californians for Diversity.
Calderon is quoted in the affidavit as saying that the nonprofit would allow him and his brother to pay themselves "down the road."
The affidavit says that De León arranged the donation in exchange for Calderon's agreement "not to challenge Senator [Ricardo] Lara to become the chairman of the Latino Caucus."
The FPPC's letter said any investigation would focus on whether De León should have publicly disclosed solicitation of such a donation, as required by the state law, and on whether De León controlled the Yes We Can account, "thus violating the Political Reform Act's prohibition against a candidate controlling a committee not associated with an election."
Senate leaders recently said they were asked by the U.S. attorney's office not to launch their own inquiry into the activities of Calderon and others pending the completion of the criminal investigation.
patrick.mcgreevy@latimes.com
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