LOS ANGELES : Ex-Officer Seized, Accused of Stealing From LAPD
A retired Los Angeles police lieutenant who became the top law enforcement officer on American Samoa this year was arrested Thursday on charges that he embezzled $22,000 from a special Los Angeles Police Department fund while working in then-Police Chief Daryl F. Gates’ office.
Victor Siaki Liu, 56, was taken into custody without incident at the home of a friend in Orange County, said Detective Bill Wilson of the LAPD’s bunco-forgery squad.
A warrant for Liu’s arrest on seven felony charges was issued in April. Authorities had agreed to let him surrender June 21 so he would have time to “take care of some work” in American Samoa, Wilson said. It would have cost as much as $10,000 to extradite Liu, Wilson said.
But Liu, who retired from the LAPD after 30 years, recently returned to California without telling authorities. When investigators found out, they went looking for him, Wilson said. Liu was being held on $25,000 bail.
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