Residency of All 5 Members of City Council to Be Verified : Investigation: George T. Deitch says his family lives in Downey but he only visits there. Rodolfo (Rudy) Garcia insists he moved to town before he was elected. State law does not prohibit multiple domiciles.

Spurred by complaints that Councilman George T. Deitch does not live in the city, Bell Gardens City Council members have decided to investigate where each of them resides.

The unanimous decision came after watchdog Victor Vaillette said at a council meeting last month that on numerous occasions he has followed Deitch to a house in Downey, and that Deitch is only pretending to live in an apartment complex he owns on Florence Avenue in Bell Gardens.

Deitch admitted that his family has moved to Downey. He insisted in an interview, however, that he continues to live in Bell Gardens and visits his family in Downey “as often as I feel like it.”

He gave no reason for the move to Downey and would not say which family members live there besides his wife, Vivian.

Mayor Frank B. Duran suggested the city investigate Deitch’s residency, but the investigation was broadened to include all council members after Councilwoman Josefina (Josie) Macias said she had similar concerns about where Councilman Rodolfo (Rudy) Garcia lives.

Garcia moved to a Bell Gardens apartment from the city of Bell shortly before filing for candidacy in 1991. But during the election, Garcia was accused by opponents of continuing to live in Bell.

Garcia denied the accusation and invited skeptics to visit his tiny habitat on Jaboneria Road, where he kept an old guitar and a photograph of his mother. “These are the two things I always take with me wherever I live,” he said at the time.

Deitch owns several pieces of property in Bell Gardens and elsewhere. His real estate office is on Eastern Avenue in Bell Gardens.

When he ran for election in 1991, Deitch listed as his residence a sparsely furnished one-bedroom apartment in a complex he owns on Shull Street in the city. Deitch claimed he moved there because of marital problems. Deitch said at the time that his wife was living in the Downey home. After Deitch was elected in March, 1991, he moved his family to a two-story home on Agra Street in Bell Gardens, where they lived until moving back to Downey recently.

Although state law requires council members to maintain a “legal domicile” in the city where they serve, it does not prohibit them from sleeping elsewhere--even seven nights a week, City Atty. Mike Estrada said.

“Under the law, (Deitch) can have several residences . . . a condo somewhere and an apartment somewhere else,” Estrada said. Deitch “can also sleep wherever he wants,” as long as his permanent residence is in Bell Gardens.

Under the law, several factors are considered in determining legal residency, Estrada said, including where a person is registered to vote, where his car is registered and where tax returns are sent.

Deitch lists separate addresses for each of those items. He is registered to vote at the Florence Avenue address. The vehicle registration for his black Jeep Cherokee lists his Eastern Avenue business address. He said his tax forms bear the Downey address because he files jointly with his wife.

Another residency factor, Estrada said, is more difficult to prove: where a councilman says he intends to live and keep a permanent residence.

Deitch said he plans to live in Bell Gardens. He accused Vaillette of harassment, and filed a police report about Vaillette’s actions. “I don’t want him near my house,” Deitch said.

According to the report, Vaillette approached Deitch’s Florence Avenue apartment twice on a Saturday night and copied down the license plate numbers of the cars parked in the driveway.

Deitch called the city-funded investigation an attempt to discredit him.

“Even if I lived underneath a tree in Bell Gardens, I could still be a councilman,” he said. “This is just another example of a racist council trying to get rid of the only white boy up there.”

The council’s other four members are Latino.

Duran denied the allegation. “I don’t have any reason to want him off the council because he’s an Anglo,” Duran said. “If he is breaking the law, he should answer to it.”

Duran said he will push to have Deitch removed from office if the investigation finds that Deitch does not live in Bell Gardens.

“What is the purpose of being a councilman if he doesn’t live in the city?” Duran asked. “If he wants to run for office, he should run in Downey.”

Estrada said the city or an individual would have to file a lawsuit and the attorney general would have to rule that the legal action is viable before the residency issue can be heard in court.

“It’s a long, arduous process,” Estrada said. “And there are no guarantees.”

City officials said the residency investigation will cost about $500. After a records search, the investigator will interview each council member and try to determine where he or she intends to live.

This is not the first time Deitch’s residency has been questioned. Ex-City Manager Claude L. Booker launched an investigation during the 1991 election, but discovered that Deitch had legally established residency in Bell Gardens.