![\"holoman.JPG\"](\"http:\/\/ronkayela.com\/holoman.JPG\")
<\/a><\/span>That man is Eric Holoman, president of Magic Johnson Enterprises, who like so many others who serve as city commissioners is a pillar of the community who has allowed his private interests to become entangled with city business. <\/p>\n
Back in September when the Early Retirement Incentive Program for 2,400 city workers was falling apart, Holoman as president of the LACERS board got a majority to support a 15-year payback for the costs of ERIP over the recommendation of General Manager Sally Choi and the fund’s actuarial consultant who believed five years was prudent if more costly to city workers.<\/p>\n
In October, he was forced to resign over a blatant conflict of interest that was ignored until Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger signed into law legislation that prohibits pension fund board members from directly or indirectly selling investments to any state pension plan.<\/p>\n
“Holomon already was chair of the system’s board when, in September 2007, he was hired as president of Johnson Development Corp., an urban development company owned by former NBA player Earvin “Magic” Johnson Jr.,” Pensions & Investments reported<\/a> at the time.<\/p>\n “Mr. Johnson is also a partner in Canyon Johnson Urban Funds, an institutional real estate joint venture with Canyon Capital Realty Advisors. LACERS is invested in Canyon Johnson funds, although the amount could not be immediately learned.”<\/p>\n According to the LACERS website, Villaraigosa, who got strong support for his election from Magic Johnson, appointed Holoman to the $9 billion pension fund board where he served as Chair of the Private Investment Committee that oversaw the funds LACERS not only lists Canyon-Johnson as manager of some of its funds but also Ron Burkle’s Yucaipa Companies, where key Villaraigosa fund-raiser and strategist Ari Swiller was a principal. The Magic Johnson Enterprises <\/a>site boasts it operates a “small business private equity fund, Yucaipa-Johnson Corporate” for capital investments.<\/p>\n For its part, Canyon-Johnson relies on the PR services of Steve Sugerman, who testified he lied and cheated the DWP in a plea-bargain deal for probation in the DWP\/Fleishman-Hillard billing scandal and provided testimony that helped convict Doug Dowie and John Stodder who are still out on appeal.<\/p>\n CIM Group also is listed as an investment manager. It’s the controversial Hollywood development firm that Swiller teamed up with to buy out from under the DWP the 68,000-acre Rudnick property in Kern County for a major wind farm where DWP has power lines.<\/p>\n
\nalternative investment Strategies.<\/p>\n