Advertisement

County Official Transferred After Wife Is Indicted : Children’s services: Executive assistant of department reassigned to his old job after his spouse was named in a pornographic video distribution case.

Share
TIMES STAFF WRITER

A top official at the troubled Los Angeles County Department of Children’s Services has been removed from his position in the wake of his wife’s indictment on federal charges of distributing pornographic videos and other sexually explicit material, The Times has learned.

Larry Colvin, who for five months served as executive assistant to the interim manager of the children’s agency, was reassigned to his old job as a management analyst with the County Administrative Office after news of the indictment became public last week.

Colvin himself has not been charged with any wrongdoing, and the charges against his wife--who worked as controller of a company named in the indictment--do not involve child pornography. However, some county officials said they felt it was proper for Colvin to leave the children’s agency, given its recent history of problems.

Advertisement

The department is currently undergoing a massive state-ordered overhaul, which Colvin was helping to supervise. During the last six months, the agency has faced allegations that children were being abused in foster care, and has also seen one of its veteran social workers arrested on charges of molesting children.

According to sources within county government, Colvin was reassigned Dec. 6 by Chief Administrative Officer Richard B. Dixon, who sent him to the Children’s Services Department in July.

While Dixon’s office did not return phone calls Thursday, an aide to County Supervisor Deane Dana confirmed that the board offices received memos last week from Dixon notifying them of the transfer. Attached to each memo was a copy of a news article reporting that Susan Colvin was among five people indicted by a federal grand jury in Dallas.

“It seemed a prudent thing to do given everything that has happened over at Children’s Services,” said Dana’s press deputy, Dennis Morefield, referring to the transfer. “But there is no indication that the man himself is guilty of anything . . . and, plus, we don’t know that she’s guilty yet.”

The eight-count indictment, made public last Wednesday, capped an 18-month investigation. It named three Los Angeles companies and five of their officials--including Susan Colvin--and charged them with interstate transportation of obscene material and conspiracy, alleging that they have run a wholesale distribution system for hard-core pornographic material.

The grand jury alleged that the company Susan Colvin worked for, California Publishers Liquidating Corp. of Los Angeles, operated as a “one-stop wholesale business for the purpose of interstate distribution of sexually explicit magazines and books, sexual devices and . . . obscene videocassette tapes.”

Advertisement

The indictment also alleged that the defendants shipped videocassettes with such titles as “Kinky Vision” and “Shaved Sinners” from California to Dallas using United Parcel Service.

According to the indictment, Susan Colvin would supervise telephone sales people, pass customer orders for “obscene videotapes” to another defendant, and collect money owed the company, all at the direction of its operator, Donald P. Browning.

Susan Colvin, along with the four other defendants, turned herself in to the FBI in Los Angeles on Dec. 4. She is now free on $50,000 bail, according to the FBI agent in Dallas who supervised the investigation. If convicted, the defendants each face a maximum prison term of 35 years and a $1.75-million fine.

Susan Colvin’s lawyer, Anthony Glassman of Beverly Hills, said his client has done nothing wrong and accused the federal government of being too zealous in prosecuting a company that he said was involved in “pretty much standard adult video fare.”

“These are standard, mainline X-rated videos of the kind that people throughout America rent in their local video stores,” Glassman said. “We have no doubt that Susan and the other defendants are innocent and that a jury in Dallas or anywhere else is not going to be happy with the FBI’s effort” to prevent people from viewing such videos.

As for Larry Colvin, he hopes his job transfer is only temporary, Glassman said.

“He would very much like to be with the (Children’s Services) Department,” Glassman said. “He feels that he can provide a valuable service to the county and to the department. Unfortunately, at this time he can’t be there, but he hopes that he’ll be allowed to return as soon as possible.”

Advertisement

Colvin could not be reached Thursday; his secretary said he is on a three-week vacation and he did not return a reporter’s call to his home.

Colvin was lent to the Department of Children’s Services after the resignation last summer of its former director, Robert L. Chaffee. He worked as a trouble-shooter. His assignment was to help familiarize the agency’s new interim director, former state appellate Judge Elwood Lui, with the workings of county government and also to help streamline the department’s management staff.

When he arrived at the agency, Colvin announced to staff members and the news media that he would be staying on for perhaps as long as several years to ensure a smooth transition once Lui was replaced with a permanent director. That switch is expected to take place in January.

The Board of Supervisors is expected to take a formal vote next week to hire Gerald Peter Digre, the second-in-command of Florida’s statewide health services agency, to assume control of the Los Angeles County agency.

At Children’s Services, Colvin had a reputation of being a straightforward, likeable former military man, according to those who worked with him. “He seemed to be very knowledgeable,” said Emery Bontrager, the department spokesman. “He’s a very fast learner.”

When Colvin suddenly left the department last week, its employees received a brief memo from Lui telling them that Colvin was needed at the County Administrative Office for a special assignment. In a telephone interview Thursday, Lui said of Colvin: “This guy did nothing wrong.”

Advertisement

One department source said there has been considerable debate about whether Colvin should have been removed.

“There’s two arguments,” the source said. “One is: Well, that’s his wife’s business. Just because your husband or wife does something, that doesn’t mean you should lose your job. The other is: If he knew this, he was putting the department in jeopardy when he came on board.”

Advertisement