June 15, 2007

By By Keith Berman and Jackie Madrigal, L.A.

Ex-Fonovisa VP of promotion Daniel Mireles is alleging that he was ordered to participate in payola or lose his job, and was fired after later saying he couldn't do it anymore.

In a potentially explosive lawsuit filed in Los Angeles Superior Court against Univision Music, Univision subsidiary Fonovisa GM Alfonso Larriva and Univision VP of marketing and promotion Alberto del Castillo, Mireles claims that Larriva and del Castillo told him in December 2005 to give PDs cash to up the airplay of Fonovisa's records. Mireles says that when he protested, saying he'd been personally investigated when Fonovisa was hit with payola charges in 1995, Larriva and del Castillo told him he'd lose his job if he didn't take part.

Mireles says he reluctantly negotiated payments with more than 50 PDs -- including a deal with a Los Angeles PD guaranteed three spins a day for eight Univision records in exchange for $10,000 in cash. Further complicating things, Mireles claims an indie was brought in to "wash" the money: Univision cut checks to a company called Chelsea Rose, and Mireles got cash back that he then delivered to the PDs. All in all, Mireles alleges he received $720,000 between January and May 2006 from Chelsea Rose to give back to PDs.

According to the suit, filed in November of last year, Mireles told his bosses in May 2006 that he wasn't going to participate in payola after June because he didn't feel comfortable engaging in the illegal activity. Mireles says that after trying, and failing, to reach Univision Music Group president/CEO Jose Behar to protest, he was fired on June 28, 2006 -- right before his end-of-June deadline.

Univision Communications senior legal counsel Ary Towfighi declined to comment when reached by Billboard.biz sister publication R&R.

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