Baca commanders also donors

Long under fire as the "sheriff to the stars," Lee Baca now faces accusations from his deputies that most of the officers he promoted to his command staff contributed to his political campaigns. Troy Anderson in the Daily News.

The issue was first raised by the Association of Los Angeles Deputy Sheriffs, which claimed that Baca has sharply increased the number of senior leadership positions since being elected in 1998 and that a large number of those positions are now held by campaign contributors.

A Daily News analysis of promotion and campaign-contribution records bear out the claim.

Of 62 sheriff's employees with ranks of captain or higher who were promoted in the past three years, 45, or 73 percent, made campaign contributions to Baca. Many did so shortly before or after their promotions.