Villaraigosa appointee quits amid child pornography investigation

An appointee of Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa said he didn't know whether he was the target of FBI agents, who searched his Tarzana home as part of a child pornography investigation.

Albert Abrams, 63, stepped down as president of the Board of Neighborhood Commissioners this week. He said in an interview with The Times that he did not know who the investigation was focused on. Asked about the search warrant, he said he had surgery earlier this year to address a growth on his spine. That growth, he said, caused "behaviors that were completely out of character."

Asked if those behaviors included the downloading of child pornography, he responded: "That’s a legal question. You’d have to talk to my attorney."

Investigators went Friday to the home of Abrams, who led a seven-member panel that oversees dozens of neighborhood councils. No one has been arrested or charged and the investigation is continuing, said FBI spokeswoman Laura Eimiller.

Computers and other evidence were seized at the home, she said.

Villaraigosa's office issued a statement saying the mayor had accepted Abrams' resignation.   

Abrams, who owns a public relations consulting firm, has been a mayoral appointee on the neighborhood council panel since 2008 and has worked on city ballot measure campaigns in Agoura Hills, Westlake Village and Walnut Creek. He said in an interview that he did not have "a single blemish" on his public record.

"Zero. You probably know that I’ve done a lot to contribute to help the city, to help the neighborhood council system," he said.

According to an affidavit filed in court, FBI agents went to Abrams’ home in search of "any records, documents, applications or materials ... that identify any minor visually depicted while engaging in sexually explicit conduct."

The affidavit said that agents had "probable cause" to believe that at least one computer at Abrams’ home had child pornography on it.

The agent who filed the affidavit also said he had reason to believe that either Abrams or another person using the Internet connection traced to the Tarzana home had been collecting such images.

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-- David Zahniser at Los Angeles City Hall and Andrew Blankstein