Dismissal Considered For Insomniac Charges

The District Attorney’s office last year accused Rotella and Go Ventures’ Reza Gerami of participating in a financial scheme in which former Coliseum officials diverted revenue from the venue through side deals with the EDM companies.

A parallel civil suit by the L.A. Coliseum Commission against Rotella, Gerami and ex-Coliseum manager Todd DeStefano was dismissed last month.

That, along with the recent publication of a number of questionable emails between members of the commission, might be the last straw for the D.A.’s case against Rotella, attorney Gary Jay Kaufman told LA Weekly.

“We’ve been saying from day one that Mr. Rotella did nothing wrong and that the charges pending against him are completely politically motivated and publicity driven,” Kauffman said. “These emails go a long way in confirming that our suspicions have been accurate.

“We note that these emails were also sent to the district attorney’s office. We are hopeful that the focus will now shift towards what appears to be a significant breach of the public trust by the Coliseum Commissioners and their staff.”

The nearly 100 pages of emails were sent anonymously to the Los Angeles Times and public figures including Gov. Jerry Brown and Mayor Eric Garcetti.

They appear to document violations of California’s open-meetings law, attempts to exclude state officials from confidential negotiations regarding a handover of the Coliseum to USC, and vote counting by members of the Coliseum Commission.

The emails also note the estimated price the public would pay for the civil suit against Rotella, Gerami and DeStefano – roughly “$140,000 per month in the first three months of 2012, rising thereafter to $175,000 per month.”

The judge in Rotella’s case said Sept. 18 more time was needed to consider the motion to dismiss and a new court date was set for Sept. 27, LA Weekly reported.