LOS ANGELES – A Spanish-language newscaster who was suspended for two months for having an affair with Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa while reporting on him will return to work next week.
Mirthala Salinas will be reassigned to Riverside to cover the inland counties east of Los Angeles for local Telemundo station KVEA Channel 52, station spokesman Victor Franco said. He declined to elaborate on the decision to reassign her.
An after-hours call to Salinas' spokeswoman was not immediately returned.
Salinas was a fill-in anchor on evening newscasts in June when she announced the news of Villaraigosa's separation from his wife Corina. Salinas led into the story by saying, "The rumors were true."
What she didn't tell viewers was that she had been in an extramarital affair with Villaraigosa for many months.
The mayor acknowledged the long-rumored affair on July 3 after a newspaper story revealed details of the relationship. His wife has filed for divorce.
Salinas was placed on leave July 5 while her employer conducted an internal investigation. She was later suspended for two months without pay for violating conflict-of-interest policies.
Three Telemundo employees also were disciplined. They included KVEA news director Al Corral, who was suspended without pay for two months, and the station's general manager, Manuel Abud, who was reassigned to another position. Ibra Morales, president of Telemundo stations, was reprimanded.
"Her reading of copy during newscasts ... regarding the mayor's separation from his wife was a flagrant violation of these guidelines," network president Don Browne wrote in a memo to employees.
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