Ex-DWP commissioner faces disciplinary charge related to billing scandal

The State Bar alleges that attorney Bill Funderburk traded his vote on a $30 million no-bid contract in exchange for free legal work.

A former Los Angeles Department of Water and Power board member linked to an alleged bribery scheme is facing State Bar of California disciplinary charges for allegedly soliciting and receiving more than $31,000 in free legal services from an attorney connected to the 2017 LADWP billing scandal.

The State Bar alleges that in the summer of 2017, attorney Bill Funderburk was set to vote as a DWP Board Commissioner on a $30 million no-bid contract for a business created by lawyer Paul Paradis — a cooperating witness in the DWP billing scandal — to provide consulting services to the utility.

RELATED: Botched DWP billing scandal sends lawyer Paul Paradis to prison for 33 months

At the time, Paradis was covertly assisting in the settlement of a class action suit brought on behalf of DWP ratepayers against the city of Los Angeles following the disastrous rollout of a new DWP billing system overseen by PricewaterhouseCoopers, in which some ratepayers were drastically overcharged, while others were undercharged.

Paradis and attorney Paul Kiesel were working for the city in its litigation against PWC at the same time Paradis was working covertly with class counsel to arrange a settlement of the ratepayer class action on terms favorable to the city.

According to the disciplinary notice, Funderburk was initially supportive of granting the contract to the business. In the weeks before the DWP’s June 2017 vote, however, Funderburk let the utility’s officials know that he was reluctant to support the contract.

Around the same time, Funderburk began sending text messages to Paradis to request and receive free legal services valued at more than $31,000 for an unrelated litigation matter. Soon after, Funderburk said he would vote in favor of Paradis’ contract, according to the State Bar.

In a brief conversation outside the meeting room before voting to approve his contract, Funderburk allegedly told Paradis, “You take care of me, I take care of you.”

State Bar Chief Trial Counsel George Cardona said in a statement issued Wednesday, “As a steward of the City of Los Angeles’ Department of Water and Power overseeing an annual budget of $5.5 billion, Mr. Funderburk had an ethical and legal obligation to ensure that he did not take actions that might appear to be influenced by any conflicts of interest or gifts that he received. The disciplinary charges are based on his failure to comply with these obligations.”

Funderburk also faces disciplinary charges related to allegedly asking Paradis to make a $2,700 donation to an unnamed U.S. Senator’s campaign during a time that such a donation would not be allowed given Funderburk’s city oversight of a business agreement with Paradis within the previous 12 months, according to Cardona.

Thomas Peters, a former senior lawyer for the L.A. City Attorney’s Office, was summarily disbarred in February following his felony conviction related to the DWP billing scandal. Peters was sentenced to nine months of home detention last year after pleading guilty to a federal extortion charge and agreeing to cooperate in the probe into the city’s handling of the botched launch of the DWP billing system.

State Bar disciplinary proceedings on charges against attorney Michael Libman for his role in the matter are ongoing, the agency said.