Ex-CBS CEO Leslie Moonves Pays 11K Fine For Inducing Cop To Spill Insider Info On Sex Assault Allegation

New legal documents made public Friday by the Los Angeles City Ethics Commission indicate former CBS President and CEO Leslie Moonves has paid an $11,250 fine for trying to influence a former LAPD captain.

NBC4 reports that in 2017, an L.A. police captain was leaking confidential information about a criminal investigation on Moonves. The top CBS executive had been accused of sexually assaulting a former employee.

Earlier this month, Moonves agreed to pay the $11,250 fine for violating the city’s ethics code by “inducing” a city official to misuse his position in order to create an advantage for Moonves.

The former LAPD captain, Corey Palka, personally provided Moonves with information about the LAPD investigation and the former Moonves employee who made the accusation. Palka was the commanding officer of the Hollywood Division in 2017.

The Ethics Commission said Palka met with Moonves on November 25, 2017 at a restaurant in Westlake Village to share confidential information.

“They met for about an hour and discussed the LAPD investigation,” the ethics summary said. “The meeting was not part of the official investigation by the LAPD.”

In December of that year, Moonves texted Palka directly and discussed the case again, the commission found.

Palka is now retired. New York Attorney General Letitia James first revealed in 2022 that the LAPD provided confidential information to executives at CBS as they attempted to manage the crisis.

The woman who made the Moonves accusation, Phyllis Gottlieb, claimed in 2022 that she was assaulted by Moonves while working for him at an entertainment firm in 1986.

However, she made the crime report to the LAPD in 2017, well beyond the statute of limitations, and no criminal charges could be filed.,

Moonves has denied the accusation.

Gottlieb and her attorney, Gloria Allred, declined to comment late Friday on the Ethics Commission finding.

Moonves resigned from CBS in 2018 after at least 12 women accused him of sexually assaulting them. Moonves has denied all allegations.