Council Votes to File Lawsuit Against Brookins

The Los Angeles City Council on Tuesday voted to file a lawsuit to recover $48,250 in government rent subsidies that Bishop H. H. Brookins improperly collected from the city.

The money paid to Brookins is owed because the bishop concealed his ownership in a Southwest Los Angeles building to receive $339,000 in federal loans to renovate the building, a city investigation found.

The council voted 9 to 4 to authorize the city attorney’s office to file suit. Speaking for the majority, Councilman Marvin Braude said the city was obligated to collect on its contract with Brookins. Councilman Nate Holden, one of the opponents, argued that Brookins, a longtime leader of the African Methodist Episcopal Church, was being singled out in “a witch hunt.”