Local News in Brief : Guilty Plea Entered in Telephone Scam

The operator of a Santa Monica telephone marketing firm has pleaded guilty to conspiracy charges for running a scam that bilked $10 million from customers by promising free gifts over the phone.

Janice Rado, 42, of Reseda pleaded guilty on the fourth day of her trial in federal court to 10 felony counts stemming from her operation of Transworld Marketing Group and three other earlier phone marketing schemes between 1981 and 1986, prosecutor David Katz said.

Rado and others delivered high-pressure telephone pitches to customers outside California, telling them they had been chosen by computer as winners of one of five grand prizes, including a Caribbean cruise for two and $25,000 in diamonds. They were told that in order to receive the prize and avoid “gift taxes,” however, they would have to approve a $399 charge for “high-quality” pens, key tags or baseball caps.

Two co-defendants, Charles Weixelbaum, 29, of Van Nuys and Paul O’Connor, 36, of Los Angeles, also pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Ferdinand Fernandez.