Woodland Hills’ ‘Queen of Bingo’ Will Not Be Charged : Investigation: The state finds insufficient evidence that the woman misappropriated charity funds. She still stands to lose her license to run the game.

The state attorney general’s office has found insufficient evidence to bring criminal charges that the operator of a Woodland Hills bingo parlor, the biggest in Los Angeles, illegally appropriated money from the charity that sponsors it.

However, the charity, Identity Inc., still faces the possible loss of its bingo license because police and city investigators are looking into whether its founder, Edith Ryan--known as the “Queen of Bingo”--made illegal payments to volunteer workers.

“What we found was insufficient for us to determine that she was absconding with the charity’s funds,” Deputy Atty. Gen. Chet Horn said. “We don’t clear her. We find that there is insufficient evidence for us to proceed.”

Horn said an auditor will pay a final visit to Identity soon to look into some minor pending issues, which he refused to specify.

But Horn said the attorney general’s office will not pursue the two main allegations--that Ryan had “taken large amounts of money for her own use,” and that a West Hills home for disabled adults, supported by the charity, was a front to care for her ex-husband’s son.

Ryan welcomed the news from the attorney general’s office and continued to deny that she engaged in any wrongdoing while running the charity for the disabled, which she created in 1979.

Identity has grossed about $29.4 million since February, 1982. About 80% of that money was returned to players in prize money, and the remainder went to the charity, she said.

“They’re like hound dogs sniffing around for something that isn’t there,” she said of the police and city investigators. “No one has received one dime from the bingo money, and it has not gone for anything other than charity. I have never paid anyone anything from the bingo money.”

The city Social Services Department is seeking to revoke Identity’s bingo license because of former workers’ allegations that “volunteers” who helped run the games were secretly paid $100 to $300 per session. State law requires that bingo workers be unpaid volunteers.

“The penal code says that thou shalt not pay people to run bingo,” said Robert Burns, general manager of the Social Services Department. “It must be run for charity and by volunteers.”

He said the city’s case against Identity is based on testimony from four former workers who said they were paid by Ryan.

Ryan will present her case at a hearing on Jan. 23.

Burns said he hopes to receive a recommendation from the hearing officer and make his decision on the license revocation by next month.

Ryan would then have 90 days to appeal the decision in Superior Court.

Bingo--approved by California voters in 1976 for charity purposes--continues three times a week at Identity’s Warner Center parlor, but Ryan said the investigations have caused attendance to drop way down.

Previously, Identity routinely turned people away to comply with the city-imposed maximum of 350 players per bingo parlor, she said.

Identity faced more trouble Saturday night when a city inspector cited the facility for admitting one player over that maximum.

Ryan said she will fight the citation, which is a warning and carries no penalty.

Ryan said the city investigator “walked around the room with a clicker and said there were 351. I told her she was wrong. We had turned people away. I know there were 350.” Ryan said she will appeal the citation by proving that “There was an old man with Alzheimer’s that was sitting next to his wife and was not playing himself.”

Burns said he ordered the investigator to count the bingo players at Identity after receiving several complaints that the charity was exceeding the maximum over the holidays. He called the count of 351 “not a staggeringly important violation--but you just have to comply.”

Because of the investigations, Identity is off-limits to Los Angeles police officers who used to work at the facility off-duty as guards.

Last fall, the Police Department revoked permission for its officers to work off-duty in 75 licensed bingo parlors across the city as a result of allegations that the officers at Identity knew of financial improprieties there.

Since then, permits have been reissued to some officers to work in other parlors, but no work permits will be approved for Identity until the department’s internal investigation is completed, Police Lt. William Gaida said.

State law allows payment to the guards.