New Los Angeles County D.A. reveals his goals during Chamber event

During the installment of the Agoura Hills/Las Virgenes Chamber of Commerce luncheon last week, newly elected Los Angeles County District Attorney Steve Cooley told about his goals. Cooley unseated Gil Garcetti in November’s election.

He first congratulated Agoura Hills’ city officials and the Chamber of Commerce for all they do. "This Chamber serves the most intelligent and most popular portion of the L.A. area," said Cooley. "It takes people like this to hold things together."

Cooley then explained how he wants the district attorney’s office to work. "We’re not going to work any miracles," said Cooley. But he did outline a plan to help solve some problems.

Belmont High School was the first topic. While being one of the most expensive schools to build, it’s unusable because it was built on a toxic site. Cooley wants the school built elsewhere.

New task forces are planned, he said, so that corruption in the purchase of property and incidents like the Rampart scandal (involving corrupt city police officers) can be prevented. Citizens should have confidence, Cooley said, in their justice system.

He discussed a matter that requires immediate attention; the "angel of death" who recently was blamed for the deaths of six elderly people and perhaps as many as 100 to 150 victims. It’s become the largest serial murder case in L.A. County.

Organized crime is another priority. Cooley wants a new organized crime division to focus particularly on fraud.

Cooley left the stage with a large round of applause. He said he was honored to speak at the installation of a new board of directors for the Chamber.

And the audience seemed genuinely honored to have him as a guest speaker.

––Michael Picarella