LA Coliseum GM Resigns

The general manager of Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum resigned on Tuesday amid investigations into whether he let a top assistant work for the organizer of a Coliseum rave where a teenage girl overdosed and died.

“The last year has been very trying and it has taken its toll on me, both physically and mentally,” Patrick Lynch wrote in an e-mail message to members of the Coliseum commission, hours before they met to discuss possible action against him. City News Service, which obtained a copy of the e-mail, reported that the commission accepted his resignation.

Commission member Rick Caruso called for Lynch’s resignation last week after the Los Angeles Times reported that Lynch allowed his events manager, Todd DeStefano, to arrange security for the company that organized the Electric Daisy Carnival event at the Coliseum last June.

Police and hospital officials said drug use was rampant and security was inadequate. A 15-year-old girl who attended the rave overdosed on Ecstasy and later died. About 120 people were taken to the hospital over two days.

State law generally prohibits managers from participating in decisions that affect a company in which they or their immediate family members have a financial stake. Violations can result in civil or criminal penalties.

County prosecutors and the California Fair Political Practices Commission are investigating the matter.

In his e-mail, Lynch apologized to the commission members “for all the negativity this situation has caused you and the Coliseum.”

Lynch has managed the Coliseum and the neighboring Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena since 1994. He made about $275,000 in salary and bonus pay last year.1