Les Moonves, the former president and CEO of CBS, tried to influence now-retired LAPD Captain Cory Palka amid a sexual assault investigation against the executive, new documents from the Los Angeles City Ethics Commission found.
The legal documents, made public on Friday and obtained by NBC4, revealed that Moonves agreed to pay an $11,250 fine on Feb. 5 for violating the city’s ethics code by “inducing” a city official to misuse his position for Moonves’ benefit.
The Ethics Commission found that Palka — who was the commanding officer of the Hollywood Division in 2017 — personally gave Moonves confidential information about the sexual assault probe after a former employee filed a report against him in late 2017.
Palka met with the CBS executive on Nov. 25, 2017, at a Westlake Village restaurant to share case information, according to the ethics investigation. “They met for about an hour and discussed the LAPD investigation,” the summary read. “The meeting was not part of the official investigation by the LAPD.”
Later, in December of that year, they also discussed the investigation over text message, the Ethics Commission’s documents said.
Following Moonves’ resignation from CBS in 2018 following sexual assault allegations from multiple women, the ethics investigation determined that Palka sent another message to Moonves. “I’m deeply sorry this happened. I will always stand with, by and pledge my allegiance to you,” Palka said, according to the documents.
Moonves has denied all allegations against him.
In November 2022, the Los Angeles Police Department said it launched an internal investigation into Palka’s involvement in Moonves’ case. LAPD Chief Michel Moore said in a statement at the time, “What is most appalling is the alleged breach of trust of a victim of sexual assault. This erodes the public trust and is not reflective of our values as an organization.”
The Los Angeles County District Attorney’s office also noted that an examination was underway of past cases involving Palka as a witness.
Moonves’ interactions with the LAPD first surfaced after the New York Attorney General’s office issued a November 2022 report detailing how members of his CBS C-suite themselves intervened to save their boss, worried the spiraling crisis would affect a then-nascent merger with Viacom.
The New York Attorney General secured a $30.5 million settlement from the company and Moonves for misleading CBS investors about his misconduct and concealing sexual assault allegations against him, among other offenses.
