Source of council meeting tape remains a mystery

LOS ANGELES – An anonymously leaked recording of crude, racist remarks and political scheming that led to the resignation of the Los Angeles City Council president and a powerful labor leader left behind a mystery: Who made the tape, and why?

The posting of the year-old recording on the website Reddit in the run-up to November’s midterm elections raised obvious suspicions of political motive. Much of the hourlong, private conversation among several councilmembers and the head of Los Angeles County Federation of Labor – all Latino Democrats –centered on fortifying their clout in the realignment of Council districts.

It has now prompted a state investigation.

The recording was made in a meeting room inside the headquarters of the politically influential labor group – known locally as “the Fed” – but it’s not known how the recording was made during a small gathering of friends, or even who was in the room.

It’s blatantly obvious it was an insider job,” said Mark Gonzalez, who heads the Los Angeles County Democratic Party and believes the most likely target of the unknown person who recorded the meeting was federation president Ron