GLENDALE : Prominent Developer Sought by Police
A real-estate developer who once sued the city of Glendale over a ban on condominiums is being sought by police in connection with the bilking of an elderly woman out of $450,000, investigators said this week.
A $1,000 reward is being offered for information leading to the arrest of Haik Vartanian, former president of the Tensor Group development firm, who has not been seen since November, 1994, when Los Angeles police tried to arrest him at his Glendale home.
Two of his business associates have been charged in connection with the incident, but Vartanian may have fled the country, said Glendale Police Officer Charles Follett, who is investigating the case.
“He convinced the victim to sign over her property to him, free and clear, on the pretext that he was going to obtain a construction loan to build 16 to 18 luxury condominiums on the property,” Follett said.
“He got the loan, but he absconded with the money. Not one board was ever laid down, and construction was never initiated and the property is now in receivership.”
The elderly woman, a North Hollywood resident, was not the only person entangled in Vartanian’s alleged schemes, police said. Kathy Taggares, a Glendale businesswoman and owner of K.T.’s Kitchens food company, also lent Vartanian $250,000 to start a movie production company.
Vartanian put up an apartment building and a condominium as phony collateral on the loan, Follett said. Taggares declined to comment.
In 1988, Vartanian’s company unsuccessfully sued the city in hopes of overturning a ban on condo construction that froze 50 projects. In 1991, he formed a company called American Entertainment Circle Inc. and co-produced a low-budget action movie called “Under Crystal Lake” for $1.5 million. The film was not distributed widely.
“I am very entrepreneurial by nature, and I’m always looking for an opportunity,” Vartanian said in a 1991 interview. “Both real estate and entertainment are big-money businesses.”
Glendale police ask that anyone with information about Vartanian’s whereabouts call (818) 507-7867.
