ABC Agent Is Accused of Bribery : Charges: Investigator allegedly asked Hawthorne liquor store manager for $2,000 to ensure his license transfer application would be approved.

An investigator for the state Alcoholic Beverage Control agency faces arraignment next week on charges that she solicited $2,000 in bribes from a Hawthorne liquor store manager.

Debra L. Bender, 30, a seven-year veteran of the agency who worked out of its Inglewood office, was arrested last month after ABC agents and district attorney’s investigators observed her accepting the payments from the manager of S & D Liquor.

Bender told store manager Thomas Carter that if he paid her $2,000 she would assure that the Rosecrans Avenue store’s liquor license transfer application “would have no problems,” said ABC internal affairs administrator Jack Brewer.

Bender met with Carter three times in May and had collected $1,000 before she was arrested by ABC agents acting on a tip from the manager, who had called the FBI, Brewer said. Deputy Dist. Atty. Eloise Philips said that during negotiations with Carter, Bender ultimately had agreed to accept only $1,000 in exchange for her services.

Bender told Carter that through her contacts she could make sure the license transfer would be approved, Brewer said. If he refused to comply, Bender threatened to delay the license transfer, jeopardizing the sale of the liquor store, Brewer said.

The ABC has suspended Bender and is taking steps to dismiss her, Brewer said.

Bender, who earns about $40,000 a year, intended to use the money from Carter to pay debts, Brewer said.

She is scheduled to be arraigned next week in Los Angeles County Superior Court on bribery charges and remains free on $15,000 bail. If convicted, she could face up to four years in prison, Philips said.

Bender could not be reached for comment.

Carter, who wore a hidden microphone during his dealings with Bender, declined to discuss the case in detail, but said in an interview that he was affronted by the bribery attempt.

“I was definitely surprised,” he said. “I know they get paid good money so for someone to make a bribe like that . . . I was just real surprised.”

Bender first approached Carter in early May with the suggestion he pay $2,000 to smooth the transfer of the license, Brewer said.

“At the time I didn’t know how to react,” Carter said. He called the FBI, which launched a preliminary investigation before turning the case over to the ABC and district attorney, Brewer said.

Investigators monitored three visits between Bender and Carter in which the manager paid her the $1,000 in increments, Brewer said.