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The LAPD mentioned Wednesday that it has begun an inner investigation right into a retired police commander who allegedly tipped off Leslie Moonves, then the CEO of CBS Corp., a couple of sexual assault investigation in November 2017, and who swore his “allegiance” to Moonves as he labored to maintain the allegation out of the press.
The LAPD recognized the retired commander on Wednesday night time as Cory Palka, who left the division in February 2021 after 34 years on the drive.
Palka’s conduct got here to mild on Wednesday as a part of the New York Legal professional Common’s investigation into the corporate’s dealing with of the sexual misconduct allegations that finally pressured Moonves’ ouster in 2018.
In line with a 37-page report, Palka disclosed the lady’s allegation to a CBS govt simply hours after she made the grievance. Palka later gave CBS executives a full copy of the confidential police report, together with the lady’s private figuring out info, and took quite a few steps to maintain CBS apprised of the progress of the investigation.
LAPD Chief Michel Moore referred to as the Palka’s conduct “appalling” in an announcement on Wednesday night, and mentioned that an inner investigation had been opened into him and another LAPD members who might have been concerned.
“What’s most appalling is the alleged breach of belief of a sufferer of sexual assault, who’s among the many most weak, by a member of the LAPD,” Moore mentioned within the assertion. “This erodes the general public belief and isn’t reflective of our values as a company.”
Palka was a captain on the time of the Moonves investigation, and was commanding officer of the Hollywood Division, the place the report was filed. He had a previous relationship with CBS as a result of he had been employed to work as Moonves’ safety aide for the Grammy Awards from 2008-2014, in response to the legal professional normal’s report.
High CBS safety officers had been capable of make use of the police report — months earlier than the allegations turned public — to do data searches on her and her household in an effort to seek out out what it might take to purchase her silence, in response to the report.
Palka went as far as to fulfill personally with Moonves at a Westlake Village restaurant to replace him on the investigation and the accuser’s contacts with the police and the D.A.’s workplace.
“In the course of the assembly Moonves mentioned that he needed the LAPD investigation closed and mentioned contacting different public officers,” the report states.
Palka additionally was involved with Moonves’ lawyer. At one level within the investigation, he despatched the lawyer a textual content saying that he would inform the investigating officer to “make contact & admonish the accuser tomorrow about refraining from going to the media and sustaining ‘her’ confidentiality.”
He additionally assured CBS officers that he had taken steps to verify the report wouldn’t leak to the press.
“The secret’s that NO different accusers come ahead,” Palka wrote, in response to the report.
On Nov. 30, 2017 — 20 days after the report was filed — Palka assured CBS officers that the case was “a particular REJECT,” that means that the D.A. would decline to file costs.
The D.A.’s workplace did finally decline to prosecute as a result of the alleged assault dated from the Eighties and was exterior the statute of limitations.
The lady, Phyllis Golden-Gottlieb, instructed her story to Ronan Farrow, who printed a narrative about Moonves within the New Yorker on Sept. 9, 2018. Moonves resigned later that day, and was ultimately formally terminated by the corporate after an investigation.
Palka despatched a message to a CBS govt that day, saying, “I’m so sorry to listen to this information Ian. Sickens me. We labored so onerous to attempt to keep away from at the present time. I’m so fully unhappy.”
Two days later, he wrote on to Moonves: “Les — I’m deeply sorry that this has occurred. I’ll at all times stand with, by and pledge my allegiance to you. You may have embodied management, class and the very best of character by all of this.”
Palka appeared as himself in two episodes of the Amazon collection “Bosch,” in response to IMDb. In 2021, Michael Connelly, the writer of the “Bosch” books and an govt producer on the collection, credited Palka for having “opened quite a lot of doorways to our manufacturing.” Palka additionally acquired information protection after he took a knee with protesters throughout demonstrations over the homicide of George Floyd in 2020.
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