The Los Angeles Police department says it is investigating a now-retired LAPD captain accused of helping to keep accusations of sexual assault against Leslie Moonves from becoming public.
News of the corrupt conduct came earlier Wednesday when the New York Attorney General’s office announced that Moonves and Paramount Global would pay a combined $24.5 million to CBS shareholders to settle insider trading and sexual misconduct claims.
As part of that case, the office said that Chief Communications Officer Gil Schwartz sold millions of dollars’ worth of stock in the network after the LAPD captain secretly informed him, Moonves and other executives that Moonves had been accused of sexual assault. The NY Attorney General’s office also said that the LAPD captain worked with executives for months to things quiet until Schwartz sold his stock just prior to the whole thing going public.
Apparently, the LAPD captain, who has not been identified, moonlighted as a security consultant for Moonves at the Grammy Awards from 2008-2014.
LAPD Chief Michel Moore said in a statement that the department is “fully cooperating with the New York and California Attorney General offices and have also initiated an internal investigation regarding the conduct of the retired command officer as well as to identify any other member(s) of the organization that may have been involved. What is most appalling is the alleged breach of trust of a victim of sexual assault, who is among the most vulnerable, by a member of the LAPD. This erodes the public trust and is not reflective of our values as an organization.”
