By Eric Longabardi
Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa said yesterday that today his office will release what it is says is all the information it has about just how many events the Mayor attended without having to pay for his tickets since he was elected Mayor in 2005.
The Enterprise Report has uncovered additional events, not previously disclosed, in which the Mayor was present and attended, based on a review of publicly available photographic evidence.The mayor's office so far has released a list of 80 events in which it claims the Mayor received free tickets to an event. The records are sparse and the documentation to determine exactly how many events the Mayor attended and exactly the number of tickets that were provided and their value is far from complete.
LA's Mayor has been involved in a local media tempest since late last month when it was first reported by local Fox TV reporter Johm Schwada that the Mayor had failed to disclose the value of the tickets he was receiving as "gifts" to attend LA Laker games. The Mayor has claimed that the tickets and their value are not required to be disclosed because he was performing "official duties" at the events.
The tickets range from Los Angeles Laker courtside seats to L.A Dodger baseball games to the Academy Awards and everything in between. The Mayor and his guests have been a regular fixture at sporting events, concerts and other events around Los Angeles since he took office. The Mayor's ticket taking practices are currently the focus of two different investigations.
The new events not previously disclosed by the Mayor's office are:
May 28, 2005 LA Galaxy v. Chivas USA *was Mayor-Elect at the time
May 12, 2006 LA Clippers v. Phoenix Suns
Oct 4, 2008 LA Dodgers v. Chicago Cubs
Dec 2, 2009 Grammy Nominee Concert
June 3 2010 LA Lakers v. Boston Celtics Game 1 NBA Finals
June 6, 2010 LA Lakers v. Celtics Game 2 NBA Finals
