Hilton's prosecutor under fire for double standard

LOS ANGELES, June 21 (Reuters) The city prosecutor who condemned Paris Hilton's early release from jail as a case of celebrity favoritism is now under fire for his own special treatment -- acknowledging his wife was the subject of a 9-year-old arrest warrant.

The disclosure, first reported by the Los Angeles Times yesterday, is the latest in a mushrooming scandal that has engulfed City Attorney Rocky Delgadillo, who sought election as California Attorney General last year but lost to former Gov.

Jerry Brown.

Delgadillo's problems escalated on Tuesday when, after dodging media inquiries for days, he acknowledged that his wife had been driving his city-owned sport utility vehicle on a suspended license when it was damaged in a 2004 accident and later repaired at taxpayer expense.

He also conceded that he drove for more than a year without automobile insurance required of all California drivers and that his wife, Michelle, was uninsured when she left the scene of another 2004 accident involving the couple's personal car.

At a City Hall news conference, Delgadillo called his own behavior a breach of ''the public trust'' and said he ''mishandled the situation.'' On Wednesday, he and his wife issued additional statements saying they were ''embarrassed'' by the latest revelations, and Delgadillo said he had been unaware of his wife's arrest warrant until it was reported by the Times.

A spokesman for Delgadillo said that his wife's lawyer appeared in court on Wednesday morning to resolve the matter and that the arrest warrant was no longer pending.

According to the newspaper, a judge ordered his wife arrested in 1998 shortly before they were married on charges of driving without insurance on a suspended license in an unregistered car. She was never detained. Also, documents obtained by the Times show that the couple was chronically late in paying fines for at least five parking tickets.

'TWO-TIERED' SYSTEM? The attention on the Delgadillos' driving records followed statements he made two weeks ago castigating the Los Angeles County sheriff, Lee Baca, for releasing Hilton from jail early and placing her under house arrest for unspecified medical problems.

Hilton, the celebrity heiress and star of the reality TV show ''The Simple Life,'' originally was sentenced to 45 days behind bars for driving on a suspended license in violation of her probation in a previous drunken-driving case.

''If law enforcement officials are to enjoy the respect of those we are charged with protecting, we cannot tolerate a two-tiered jail system where the rich and powerful receive special treatment,'' Delgadillo said at the time.

It was his office that prosecuted Hilton and sought the 45-day sentence, which a Times investigation later found was far more time than most county inmates serve for similar offenses.

REUTERS LPB RK0845