San Diego Convention Center Chief Quits

SAN DIEGO —  The top executive of the San Diego Convention Center abruptly resigned his $117,000-a-year job Wednesday after allegations that he held half a dozen private parties at the center--at taxpayer expense--that included his family and friends.

Tom Liegler, 63, the general manager of the Convention Center since 1985, submitted his resignation, effective in 30 days, because “recent events have affected my ability to manage the center effectively,” he said in a prepared statement.

Liegler came under scrutiny last week for four parties he arranged this year and last whose guest list included members of his family, his golfing club, colleagues from the Anaheim Convention Center, where he worked for 20 years, and a social club he belonged to whose members all share the first name Tom. All four events cost the center more than $12,000.

In announcing Liegler’s resignation, Convention Center Corp. Board Chairman Morgan Dene Oliver disclosed two other “troublesome” events that should not have been paid for by the Convention Center.

Both were held late last year and are believed to have included Liegler’s family and friends, Oliver said.

One event, listed on convention center records as “TFL (Tom F. Liegler) Progressive Dinner/Republican Local Committee Dinner as Wrapup,” was supposedly related to the Republican National Committee’s visit last year to decide whether San Diego should host the 1992 Republican National Convention. The committee eventually chose Houston as the site in January.

Oliver, who was part of the welcoming committee for the RNC, said he was not part of the dinner, to which eight people were invited at a cost of $327.28.

Last December, Liegler invited nine people to the Convention Center for a dinner that cost $336.33. Convention Center officials said they cannot find a guest list or an official purpose for either party in their records.

Last week, Oliver strongly defended Liegler in a press conference. He said two of the original group of four parties in question--one for members of an auditorium manager’s association and another for a social group of San Diego businessmen and civic leaders named Tom--were legitimate convention center expenses because they helped promote the facility. The two events totaled $10,559.

Liegler said he planned to pay the $1,411 cost of a third party, to which he invited 32 members of his golfing club, called the Dana Group. A food service manager said the dinner bill was to have been borne by the Convention Center until the allegations surfaced. Liegler then asked that he be sent the bill.

Oliver, who defended Liegler’s actions concerning that event, said new information caused him to suggest to Liegler on Sunday that he resign.

Perhaps the most controversial party occurred in February, when Liegler invited a dozen physicians, including his Orange County cousin, a neurologist, to the center because they were interested in holding a workers compensation seminar there.

All of the physicians except Liegler’s cousin found it impossible to attend, but Liegler suggested he come down anyway and invite members of his family. In all, 12 members of the Liegler family enjoyed $745 worth of food. Liegler said he reimbursed the center for the amount after the expenditure was questioned.

San Diego’s city attorney and city manager are both investigating the expenditures. It is unclear whether criminal charges will be filed, but Liegler retained criminal defense attorney Peter Hughes late Tuesday.