He <i> Did </i> Leave the Office--and Now Sign Will Go, Too

Former Los Angeles Police Chief Daryl F. Gates’ stint as an unwitting billboard pitchman for Chinese fast food is drawing to an end.

For the last month or so, a huge ad on Santa Monica Boulevard in West Los Angeles has used Gates’ image over a slogan for the Wok Fast restaurant’s delivery service: “When You Can’t Leave The Office. Or Won’t.”

Gates apparently did not appreciate Wok Fast’s takeoff on his famous, long-running resistance to stepping down as chief, and his attorney asked last week that the billboard come down. Richard Zien, president of Mendelsohn-Zien Advertising, which represents Wok Fast, said the ad will be removed within five days.

“Obviously, we pushed the envelope as far as we can push it and I think we probably achieved our objective in spades,” Zien said, noting that the billboard near Wok Fast’s flagship outlet drew national publicity for the neophyte chain.

Gates’ lawyer also asked Wok Fast to make a contribution to riot-affected portions of the Korean-American community as compensation for the unauthorized use of the chief’s likeness, Zien said. But Wok Fast’s directors have yet to decide how much, if any, money to contribute, he said.