License Action Targets Biggest Bingo Parlor

Proceedings began Thursday to revoke the license of the largest-grossing bingo parlor in Los Angeles, with city officials releasing affidavits by four ex-workers of the Woodland Hills operation alleging they were illegally paid up to $300 a night from skimmed cash.

At stake in an administrative hearing is the bingo license of Identity Inc., a charity headed by Edith Ryan. Identity has grossed $28.7 million in bingo proceeds since 1982, almost 20% of the bingo take citywide.

Meanwhile, it was revealed that the state attorney general’s office has launched a separate civil probe of Identity to determine if the organization’s officers misused charitable funds. The Los Angeles Police Department also is investigating possible criminal misdemeanor violations.

It is illegal under state law for people to receive a “profit, wage or salary” from the proceeds of a bingo game, all of which, after expenses, are required to go to charity.