Con Artist’s ‘Protection Plan’ Only Ensured His Arrest : Man Pleads Guilty in Scam to Bilk $550,000 From Surgeon

Noted plastic surgeon Dr. H. George Brennan of Newport Beach had an irksome problem: Someone was passing out literature at office buildings and at South Coast Plaza accusing him of being a butcher.

Fortunately for Brennan, a man from Hollywood named Alan Bates was ready to help. He would use friends in Las Vegas to stop the culprit, and it would only cost the doctor $550,000.

Unfortunately for Alan Bates, the doctor did not believe him and chose to call the police.

Bates, whose real name is Reece L. Crisp, pleaded guilty Friday in Orange County Municipal Court to attempted grand theft in the incident. Crisp, 52, a part-time musician, is scheduled to return to the Santa Ana courtroom Feb. 9, then will be sent to state prison for a diagnostic study before he is sentenced.

It was Crisp, of course, who had been passing out the derogatory literature. And for many months after the scam began in June, 1987, Crisp must have thought he had a gold mine of a plot.

Crisp, unaware that Brennan had called police, made numerous telephone calls and even wrote letters describing how he wanted to help the doctor. Many of the calls, which authorities monitored, were from a pay phone at a gas station in Las Vegas. The ostensible purpose behind all these communications was to negotiate a fair price for what Crisp referred to as “the Council.”

In one of the first letters, Crisp wrote, “During my career, I have encountered many people, some of which are a few Las Vegas friends with the right connections to take care of this problem.”

On April 24, 1988, Crisp decided to let Brennan know how much money would be required and when a meeting could be arranged. But Brennan was in Paris on that date, speaking at a medical convention. Crisp called him there from a pay telephone in Victorville, which is along the Los Angeles-to-Las Vegas route.

A recording of that conversation shows a glib con artist and a tight-lipped intended victim.

Crisp wondered whether maybe the doctor did not trust him because he thought he sounded younger than 30 when in fact he was in his 50s. Did that bother the doctor? he asked.

“Did you think I was younger? A lot of people do,” Crisp said.

Brennan asked him to talk about something “more fruitful.”

Crisp pointed out that he had only gotten into this thing to help, “as a decent thing to do.”

Crisp went on to say that he’d had trouble making arrangements with friends in Las Vegas. A senior member of “the Council” had died, and members had decided to conduct no business until after his funeral. But they did have a “Los Angeles maintenance group” that could help.

Brennan abruptly told Crisp to get to the bottom line.

“You want the bottom line? They will give us a lifetime insurance policy against any future trouble, but the cost is $500,000,” Crisp said. That may sound expensive, Crisp said, but with it you get a 24-hour telephone number you can call anytime you have a problem. “That’s their first-class deal,” Crisp said.

Then, of course, he added, Brennan would have to pay another $50,000 for Crisp’s expenses.

According to Orange County prosecutors, an arrangement was eventually made for a meeting May 6, 1988, at a bar in Hollywood. Brennan was to give the money to someone who would walk up to him saying, “I’m here to pick up a briefcase for Mr. Washington.”

The meeting was postponed, however, when police expressed concern about the

setting.

Brennan then suggested that they meet May 11 at the Hilton Hotel in Anaheim. Crisp agreed, but specified the conditions: Brennan was to have a representative inside the hotel lobby, and Crisp would send his own representative in to pick up the money; the same signal would be given, except “Mr. Washington” would now be “Mr. Valentine.”

Investigators for the Orange County district attorney’s office had by this time placed Crisp under surveillance, primarily so they would know what he looked like when the meeting occurred.

Brennan was in the vicinity but safely under police protection.

On the appointed day, the Hilton lobby was swarming with Anaheim police officers and district attorney’s investigators. One was dressed in a hotel security uniform. Some hid in a lobby closet. Some posed as tourists anticipating a day at Disneyland.

‘Had to Be Ready’

“We thought the whole thing was a fake,” Deputy Dist. Atty. Christopher J. Evans said, “but what if he really did know some boys in Las Vegas? We had to be ready.”

It was not Crisp who walked in, however. It was the cab driver who had brought him there. Crisp was outside in the parking lot.

Prosecutors say the cab driver walked up to someone who resembled a description of Brennan’s representative. That man, who was a police officer, handed the cabbie a note reading: “YOU ARE SURROUNDED BY POLICE. YOU ARE UNDER ARREST. DO NOT RESIST. PLACE YOUR HANDS ABOVE YOUR HEAD.”

The cab driver, terrified by what he had stumbled into, did as ordered. Crisp was arrested in the parking lot. Police explained everything to the cab driver, who was let go.

In checking Crisp’s background, investigators discovered that he was indeed in the music business. He produced his own album, “The L.A. Song,” under his stage name, Sonny Warmer, in 1984.

They also discovered something else. Crisp, whom Brennan never saw during this encounter, is a former patient of the doctor.

Praise for Cooperation

“This whole thing came about because of the cooperation of Dr. Brennan,” prosecutor Evans said. “He gave up a lot of his valuable time to assist us. We can’t thank him enough.”

Brennan, who was not in court Friday, could not be reached for comment.

Crisp, who is now free on $100,000 bail, admitted in court Friday that he had tried to steal $550,000 from Brennan. When he walked out of the courtroom after the proceedings, he shook hands with Evans and said, “Thanks for everything.”

“You’re quite welcome,” Evans answered, smiling.