Eric Garcetti, from ericgarcetti.com

HOLLYWOOD/LOS ANGELES—Four Los Angeles City Council members have been ordered to pay $13,300 in fines for accepting free tickets to Hollywood events over the past four years.

In accordance with the city’s Ethics Commission, councilmen Tony Cardenas, Eric Garcetti, Jose Huizar and Herb Wesson are being fined for accepting free passes to local concerts and award shows. All four have admitted to breaking the law that prohibits city officials from accepting more than $100 a year from restricted resources, which includes individuals or groups who have work pending for the city.

The announcement of these fines comes a week after Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa agreed to pay $42,000 in fines for his acceptance of free tickets for 34 events, such as Dodgers and Lakers games, as well as concerts including Shakira and the Spice Girls. His was the largest fine any elected city official has been ordered to pay for the Sate’s Fair Political Practices Commission.

Tony Cardenas, from tonycardenas.com

The commission is scheduled to vote on April 11 on its own share of the fine.

The largest of the fines for the four city councilmen belongs to Garcetti, who owes $4,800 because he accepted entry into the Governor’s Ball after the 2007 Academy and Emmy Awards. Additionally, he received tickets for the 2008 ball, but later attempted to pay $700 of the tickets’ worth two years later, according to the conditions of the fine.

Garcetti originally faced a maximum penalty of $15,000, but the Ethics Commission offered a reduced amount because they believed Garcetti misunderstood the law surrounding gifts as they apply to award shows. They stated that he believed he was paying the correct value of the gifts at the time he received them.

The second largest fine was issued to Wesson, who agreed to pay the negotiated amount of $3,800 for accepting four free tickets to the BET awards in 2007, 2008 and 2009.

Herb Wesson, from cd10.lacity.org

Cardenas has agreed to pay $2,500 for his acceptance of two free tickets to the 2008 Emmy Awards, which each have a value of $1,300, according to the ethics commission.

Additionally, fines have been proposed for the donors of the gifts, such as the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, which has consistently lobbied for a development project in Hollywood over the past few years.

The organization has agreed to pay $13,250 in fines.

The Academy of Television Arts and Sciences has agreed to pay $7900, the Black Entertainment Television Networks will pay $3,900, and the Anschutz Entertainment Group, which owns the Staples Center and the Nokia Theater, is set to pay $799.

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