Not to be outdone by the legislature’s blatant cronyism in appointments, Governor Schwarzenegger awarded a spot on the LA Coliseum Commission to one of his top campaign donors, Rick Caruso, today. Caruso comes in 17th on the list of all-time top donors to Schwarzenegger with donations totaling $653,200.

The governor has a long history of giving donors desirable posts: I did a review in May 2007 that showed 15 Schwarzenegger donors (correction: 14 in August, read the blog) who made over $1.8 million in contributions won appointments. Adding Caruso’s dough makes it: 16 appointments for $2.5 milion.

As a Sacramento reporter, Bill Ainsworth exposed the gov’s practice of appointing donors in multiple stories. I guess the governor doesn’t hold a grudge, because the Sacramento Bee notes that the former-San Diego Union Tribune reporter also landed a Schwarzenegger appointment today, as a communications director for the Lottery.

More: Here’s Bill’s story, and another a year later in the North County Times.