LOS ANGELES _ The Los Angeles Department of Water and Power's top executive stepped down Tuesday, one day after FBI agents raided the utility's downtown headquarters.
Mayor Eric Garcetti had announced weeks ago that David Wright, the DWP's general manager, would be leaving the utility Oct. 1. In the wake of the searches at the DWP and other city offices, however, Wright is leaving immediately, Garcetti said.
With "law enforcement being over at the Department of Water and Power, it was clear to me he needed to step away from the department today, full stop," Garcetti said in an interview.
The DWP's board voted Tuesday to appoint Chief Operating Officer Marty Adams, a 35-year veteran of the agency, as interim general manager, effective immediately. The commission also recommended that the L.A. City Council confirm Adams for the permanent job.
Wright did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
FBI agents served search warrants Monday at multiple government offices, including at City Attorney Mike Feuer's office, as part of an investigation into how the city responded to the disastrous rollout of a new DWP customer billing system in 2013.
Feuer spokesman Rob Wilcox said the warrants served at the city attorney's office were connected to the city's settlement of a class-action lawsuit filed over inaccurate DWP bills, as well as a separate lawsuit filed by the DWP and city against a consulting firm.
Wright was appointed general manager of the DWP in 2016 and focused on trying to fix the billing system and improving customer service.
At Wright's recommendation, the DWP in 2017 approved a no-bid $30 million contract for Aventador, a company owned by Paul Paradis, who also was an attorney retained by Feuer in a lawsuit filed against the consulting firm that implemented the utility's new billing software.
An excerpt of a federal search warrant reviewed by the Los Angeles Times shows investigators were seeking information about the DWP contracts _ awarded or proposed _ with companies affiliated with Paradis.
Investigators, according to the warrant, are seeking information from several locations, including the offices of Wright and the five-member DWP commission appointed by Garcetti. They are looking for evidence of a wide array of possible crimes, including bribery, kickbacks, extortion, mail fraud and money laundering, according to the warrant excerpt.
Investigators are also seeking information related to the DWP's activities with the Southern California Public Power Authority, a government agency composed of several municipal utilities, the warrant excerpt said.
Michael Webster, executive director of the power authority, said his agency hadn't heard from the FBI and declined further comment.
