Operating Without License Also Charged : Exterminator Accused of Misusing Acid

The operator of a Granada Hills pest-control business has been charged with working without a license and improperly applying boric acid in connection with an incident that sent seven Beverly Hills department store employees to a hospital.

Charles L. Gallo, 55, who operates a company called The Eliminator, was charged Tuesday with 30 misdemeanor counts stemming from the misapplication of pesticides at the Neiman-Marcus department store Aug. 19 and with unlicensed work at other establishments, said Mike Qualls, spokesman for the Los Angeles city attorney’s office.

Each count is punishable by up to six months in jail and a $1,000 fine, Qualls said.

Gallo could receive another year in jail for violating the terms of a two-year probation imposed after he was convicted in 1984 of doing pest-control work without a license, Qualls said. In that case, a restaurant at the Beverly Wilshire Hotel was closed Nov. 7, 1983, after its kitchen was contaminated by boric acid, Qualls said.

‘Eye, Nose, Throat Irritation’

In the more recent case at Neiman-Marcus, seven employees became sick Aug. 21 while cleaning up a white, powdery substance that had been spread on several floors two days earlier, Qualls said. They complained of “eye, nose and throat irritation” and were treated at Beverly Hills Medical Center, Qualls said.

Although boric acid is commonly used to kill cockroaches, it is supposed to be applied in crevices and unexposed areas, not on floors, Qualls said.

Gallo, who lives in Woodland Hills, was charged with 28 misdemeanor counts of doing pest-control work without a license, one count of misapplying pesticides and one count of causing the possibility of contamination, Qualls said.

The White Horse Inn and Nicola’s From Italy in Northridge and Lu Lu’s and Tiny Naylor’s in Van Nuys--all restaurants--are among the establishments where Gallo, who operated as a private contractor, is charged with working without a license, Deputy City Atty. Keith W. Pritsker said.

Gallo could not be reached for comment.

An employee of Gallo’s company, Chi Wai Eng, 26, of Montebello, was charged with two counts of working without a pest-control license, one count of misapplying pesticides and one count of causing the possibility of contamination, Qualls said.

They are scheduled to be arraigned Jan. 22 in Los Angeles Municipal Court.