Probe Focused on Slain Maker of Porn Films : Authorities Had Been Looking at Ties to Organized Crime

Ted Snyder, a virtual Jack-of-all-trades in the adult-film industry before he was shot to death on a Northridge street this week, had been under investigation because of his ties to alleged organized crime figures, authorities said.

Although authorities considered him a “low-level dirty movie man,” Snyder, 47, of Woodland Hills, was a principal in several video firms during the last decade, according to sources.

Snyder, whose roles during a 20-year career in the adult-film industry included distributor, producer, cameraman and film editor, was also believed to be a heavy cocaine user, according to a law enforcement source familiar with the case. Los Angeles police said Snyder had a vial of the drug in his hand when his body was found near a curb Tuesday night at Blackhawk Street and Wilbur Avenue.

The combination of drugs and Snyder’s ties to organized crime may have led to his death, said the source, who asked not to be identified. But the investigation is still in its early stages and no clear motive for the slaying has surfaced, police said.

“Right now, it is wide open,” said Lt. Ron Lewis, who is in charge of the investigation. “There are so many facets at this point to follow. We don’t know if it was business, personal or dope-related.”

Reports Not Confirmed

Lewis declined to confirm reports of Snyder’s ties to organized crime figures and would not say if the victim was under investigation at the time of his death.

Authorities said Snyder was vice president of Video Cassette Recordings Inc., also known as VCR Inc. The firm is based in a Chatsworth warehouse and has produced and distributed dozens of soft-core pornographic videos since 1980. Robert D. Genova, president of VCR, was Snyder’s partner in other video ventures based at the same warehouse in the 19700 block of Bahama Street, authorities said.

A law enforcement source said Genova is associated with an organized crime network believed headed by Martin Taccetta, who is purported to have links to Eastern mobsters involved in the distribution of adult films.

Genova and Taccetta could not be located for comment Thursday, and a man who answered the phone at VCR Inc. declined to discuss the business, its alleged ties to organized crime or Snyder’s slaying.

VCR Inc. filed for reorganization under U.S. bankruptcy laws Aug. 11, 1988, according to court records. A year earlier, another Genova/Snyder company, Mark V Productions, also filed for bankruptcy.

Records Subpoenaed

According to court documents relating to the VCR bankruptcy, Snyder and Genova were under investigation by federal authorities at the time the company filed for reorganization. Financial records from the company and its accounting firm were subpoenaed by investigators, the court records said.

“Several suppliers of VCR Inc. were apparently suspected by government agencies as dealing in major crime activities,” according to the documents.

FBI spokesman Fred Reagan declined to comment on the investigation or whether it was continuing when Snyder was killed. But a source familiar with the case said VCR is part of the focus of an ongoing organized crime investigation.

VCR Inc. listed more than $600,000 in debts to creditors after filing for reorganization. Among the listed debts was $49,500 owed to Hustler magazine. But attorneys for Hustler charged in court documents that the magazine was owed more than $500,000 and that the operators of VCR Inc. fraudulently attempted to hide assets from creditors.

“It should be noted that Genova and Snyder are currently under criminal investigation,” Hustler attorneys wrote Aug. 17, 1988, in a request to a federal judge for appointment of a trustee to oversee reorganization of the firm.

Reorganization Continuing

Keith S. Dobbins, an attorney representing VCR Inc. in the bankruptcy, could not be reached for comment. Byron Z. Moldo, an attorney who was appointed trustee in the bankruptcy case, said reorganization of VCR Inc. is continuing.

The firm has made only two or three adult films during the reorganization, Moldo said. Because of the drop in production, Moldo said he was forced to temporarily suspend Snyder as a cost-cutting measure June 30.

“He wasn’t happy,” Moldo said of Snyder. “We had several conversations about it. He didn’t understand why.”

A law enforcement source said that following Snyder’s suspension, his drug use may have been seen by his killer as a weakness that could be exploited by investigators of organized crime’s alleged ties to the adult film business.

“If you got a guy snorting cocaine, then he is usually shooting his mouth off,” said the source. “That’s what cocaine does. The cops hear that, they come around, see what’s going on. He becomes a danger. Loose lips sink ships. So he gets dumped. And the ship doesn’t sink.”

Snyder was killed in what appeared to be “a classic organized crime hit” when he showed up for a prearranged meeting on the residential street where he did not live or know anyone, the source said. It was unknown whether he was using cocaine at the time of his death, whether he had just bought the vial containing a small amount of the drug or if the vial was placed in his hand by his killer.