Gibson adds to Malibu's reputation

MALIBU, Calif., Aug. 6 (UPI) -- When Mel Gibson was arrested last month in Malibu, the now infamous incident merely added to the California city's history of troubled celebrities.

The Los Angeles Times reported that flim actor Gibson's anti-Semitic remarks and alleged preferential treatment from officers during his arrest on suspicion of drunk driving that night, added to Malibu's reputation of being the locale for popularized celebrity incidents.

"There's a misconception that we're a town filled with celebrities and several have drug and alcohol problems," Ken Kearsley, the mayor of Malibu, said. "Most people are working stiffs, not that celebrities aren't working stiffs too."

Previously the coastal city was the scene of arrests of stars such as Robert Downey Jr., Nick Nolte, musician Tommy Lee and actor Gary Busey.

Then there was the famed incident in which Britney Spears, a Malibu resident, drove around the city with her new baby sitting unprotected in her lap, the Times said.

When Gibson's Malibu courthouse trial for two misdemeanor drunk driving charges concludes, Kearsley hopes the city will return to its approximation of normal life and put the incident behind it, the newspaper said.