Firms That Solicit Funds for Police to Face Charges

The Los Angeles city attorney’s office is preparing to file misdemeanor criminal charges against the owners and some employees of two telemarketing firms that solicit money for police officer associations in the San Fernando and San Gabriel valleys.

The owners of Variety International Productions of Glendale and Rambret Inc. of Hollywood and four Rambret employees were ordered by letter last week to appear for arraignment May 20 on 12 counts of soliciting funds for a police association without a permit and failing to identify themselves as paid fund-raisers.

Detective Rudy Pichardo, who investigated the case for the Los Angeles Board of Police Commissioners, said the two firms have been responsible for most of the complaints received by the commission concerning police officer solicitations.

The companies raise money for the Montrose-based Municipal Motorcycle Officers of California, the National Police Rodeo Assn. and the Police Expo, which is put on by police officer associations in San Fernando, Alhambra and San Gabriel, Pichardo said.

Pichardo said administrative cases are also being filed with the commission seeking suspension or revocation of the permits held by the two firms.

Deputy City Atty. Jacquelyn Mason of the code enforcement section said the case is based on a police inspection of the two telemarketing boiler rooms and interviews with witnesses who complained about high-pressure calls from solicitors selling tickets to events put on by the groups and selling advertising in national newsletters.

“They were getting anywhere from $25 to $100 from people,” Mason said. “Sometimes they were asking for as much as $300 or $600.”

Mason said the callers also failed to identify themselves as professional fund-raisers, as required by law.

“When they leave out the fact they work for a professional fund-raiser, the suggestion is that they work for the Police Department,” Mason said. “So people think, ‘If the LAPD is calling I’d better give money or I might not get police services.’ ”

Mason said there were also numerous complaints that the solicitors were pushy, not taking no for an answer.

The owners of the two companies did not return calls from The Times.

Pichardo said the police organizations are legitimate and the events are real, but that only a small percentage of each donation actually goes to the organizations. Most is kept by the fund-raising companies.

Records from the California attorney general’s Registry of Charitable Trusts show, for example, that in 1991, the last year reported, Variety International passed on only 10.3% of the $1.23 million it raised on behalf of the Municipal Motorcycle Officers.

Although the U.S. Supreme Court has prohibited government agencies from setting a percentage of charitable contributions that must be given to the charity, the Police Commission has established municipal ordinances designed to prevent abuse of the LAPD’s name by police associations, which are independent of the Police Department.

“None of this money that is collected by these private businesses or these police associations ever comes back to the LAPD,” Pichardo said. “The (donors) think that because it’s the motorcycle association or the police association that somehow it is getting back to the police, but it’s not so.”

The Los Angeles Municipal Code requires all agents who solicit on behalf of police associations to be registered with the Los Angeles Police Commission as individuals. The promoters who hire them are responsible for ensuring they have permits.