PASADENA : City Wants Ex-Police Chief to Repay House Loan

The City Council has rejected a request by recently departed Police Chief Jerry A. Oliver that it forgive the balance of a $50,000 loan the city made to him to purchase a house in Pasadena and demanded that Oliver repay the $35,477 he owes.

Mayor William Paparian said the city may seek a lien on the house if the payment is not made upon demand by Oliver, who left Pasadena last month after four years to become police chief of Richmond, Va. Under the terms of a promissory note signed by Oliver, he agreed to repay the loan entirely within 30 days of leaving his job, said Paul Karsten, acting finance director. Oliver left Pasadena April 21.

Oliver had asked the city to forgive the remainder of the $50,000 loan made in 1991, saying that bonus pay he was promised by the city was never provided. Oliver did not return calls from The Times, but is quoted today in the Richmond Times-Dispatch as saying he plans to repay the loan when he sells his Pasadena house.

The loan dispute comes on the heels of the revelation that the district attorney’s office is investigating allegations that Oliver repeatedly beat his onetime girlfriend while he was chief. The girlfriend made the allegations in a police report last year. Oliver has denied the allegations.