General Manager of the L.A. Coliseum steps down

Patrick Lynch, general manager of the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, resigned Tuesday, hours before the Coliseum Commission was set to meet to determine the fate of his job.

According to the Los Angeles Times, Lynch came under increased pressure to step down as general manager after it was revealed that Todd DeStefano, his former events manager, was also a promoter for Insomniac Inc., which has hosted raves in the Coliseum.

Lynch is accused of allowing DeStefano to be in charge of the security and medical services at the Electric Daisy Carnival hosted at the Coliseum. while being a promoter for Insomniac Inc.

A teenage girl died of a suspected drug overdose at the EDC and multiple other drug problems were reported.

Lynch, who served as general manger of the Coliseum and Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena for 17 years, maintains that he was unaware of DeStefano’s employment with Insomniac Inc.

Lynch had been an important player in trying to bring a professional football team to Los Angeles, according to the Los Angeles Times.

DeStefano is currently under investigation by the Los Angeles County district attorney’s office for possible charges of criminal conflict of interest. The Fair Political Practices Commission is also looking into whether DeStefano committed a criminal act when he did not disclose income from an outside source and for conflict of interest.

Jorge Montoya, a graduate student studying aerospace engineering, said he believes that Lynch made the right decision in resigning, regardless of Lynch’s knowledge of DeStefano’s job as promoter.

“When you’re in charge of an office and there is corruption, it is the right thing to do to step aside even if you did not directly do anything wrong,” Montoya said.