Villaraigosa Fundraisers Raise Eyebrows

Mayor Villaraigosa is gearing up for what could be an expensive re-election campaign holding big bucks fundraisers all over the place. Walter Moore reports on soirees hosted by Mayor Richard Daley in Chicago, Mayor Michael Bloomberg in New York, former Assembly Speaker and former Mayor Willie Brown in San Francisco and Benny and Juliette Klepach in Florida.

Y'all might remember Benny Klepach. He owns Duty Free Air and Ship Supply and has connections with a patchwork of airport concessionaire firms that were involved in a controversy over employee contributions to Villaraigosa when he was challenging then Mayor Jim Hahn in 2005. Villaraigosa eventually returned the donations. Klepach previously owned two concessions at LAX and through a spokesman said he has not decided if he will bid on upcoming airport concessions to be voted on Villaraigosa's Airport Commissioners. According to the LA Times, Klepach's previous LAX contracts will be mentioned in the upcoming public corruption trial of former Airport Commissioner Leland Wong.

In the meantime if you're interested in attending a Villaraigosa fundraiser closer to home, you can attend one hosted by local lobbyist Victor Griego to be held this Saturday Downtown.