Corruption In Local Government

The Los Angeles Times reported last Saturday about a Los Angeles Housing Authority manager who is accused of directing about $800,000 in contracts to his brothers and three politically connected firms without competitive bidding or after rigged contests. City Councilwoman Janice Hahn called for an audit of the Housing Authority of the city of Los Angeles, citing the Times report last week and separately, City Controller Laura Chick said she had already planned to audit the department to determine what parts of the agency need further scrutiny. This incident follows similar corruption scandals in cities surrounding Los Angeles and raises question about how to root out corruption and the abuse of power in local city governments. Larry Mantle talks with City Controller Laura Chick about how to hold local government officials to a higher standard of ethics and accountability.