The Region : L.A. City Inspector Fired

A city waste inspector has been fired for allegedly trying to extort money and in one case sexual favors from employees of three businesses he was assigned to regulate. Mark Koide, 34, was fired by the Los Angeles Board of Public Works after he was arrested on suspicion of accepting a $100 bribe at a restaurant on La Cienega Boulevard. Los Angeles police detectives, called by the manager, monitored the exchange. Police said that in the exchange, Koide first asked the woman manager of the restaurant, then other women employees, for a date in return for not requiring the installation of an expensive piece of equipment. Police said a request for sexual favors was implied in the the exchange. A Department of Public Works disciplinary report said Koide also solicited a $100 bribe from a nearby restaurant and an $800 bribe from a theater in the same area.