Kindly Baca Stumps for Star Pals

GOTCHA BACA Sheriff Lee L.A. County Sheriff Lee Baca says his free reg. req. so-called "Paris Hilton and Mel Gibson Protection Act" aims to stop journalists from putting a "bounty" out on celebs, but all it really seems designed to do is keep Baca's pals and campaign donors out of the gossip columns.

He feels their pain, after all. Last year, the sheriff himself was under siege for trying to cover-up Mel Gibson's anti-Semitic remarks during a DUI traffic stop. Before his arrest, Gibson filmed a public service ad for Baca's charity—dressed in a full sheriff's uniform.

And who could forget, earlier this summer, when Baca briefly yanked Paris Hilton out of the pokey, apparently against a judge's orders?