Bert Boeckmann, City in Dispute Over His Firm’s Parking Tickets

Does Bert Boeckmann, Los Angeles Police Commission member and political power broker, owe the city more than $11,000 for his car dealership’s unpaid parking tickets?

Or is Boeckmann the target of an overzealous city bureaucrat who has an admitted “personal interest” in the owner of Galpin Motors, one of the nation’s leading Ford dealers?

These questions became the subject of a City Hall inquiry Monday, pitting a mid-level official against one of the city’s most powerful political figures.

At the center of the controversy is parking systems coordinator Jay S. Carsman.

On Thursday, Carsman faxed Galpin Motors, a mid-San Fernando Valley dealership, a letter demanding payment of $11,041 in delinquent parking tickets.

But on Monday, Carsman’s boss, Michael Inouye, sent instructions to Boeckmann to do nothing until Inouye has had a chance to investigate the letter and allegations of bias against Carsman.

While Carsman denied he was singling out Galpin, he acknowledged in an interview that he had a “personal interest” in the dealership: His 21-year-old son had a dispute with Galpin eight months ago over the lease of a $40,000 Mustang.

“What I’m doing with Galpin is no different than what I’ve done with any other agency,” said Carsman, who has worked for the city for 25 years. “I see no reason why some multimillionaire car dealer should get away without paying his bills. This is Mr. San Fernando Valley. Mr. Big Political Power.”

Carsman said he complained in a letter to former Police Commission President Deirdre Hill about his son’s dispute with Boeckmann’s dealership, which is located in the community of North Hills.

Boeckmann, a police commissioner since 1984, said he does not believe he owes the city anything.

“In the 43 years I’ve been here, I’ve never had anything like this before,” Boeckmann said. “From what I’m hearing [from the city], they are very doubtful I owe them a penny. They’re going to get it together.

“I think they have their own problems,” Boeckmann said.

Inouye, the city’s parking administrator, said he was concerned about possible inaccuracies in Carsman’s letter and about Carsman’s possible bias against the dealership.

“I want to make sure he [Boeckmann] understands we are doing a review of the entire matter,” Inouye said. “I want him to know that there is nothing sub rosa about this.”

In the letter to Boeckmann, sent to his Galpin Motors’ office fax machine Thursday, Carsman said the dealer must pay the full amount of the delinquent tickets by cashier’s check by Wednesday.

City records, provided to The Times by Carsman, show that Galpin has nearly 250 outstanding parking tickets on 162 vehicles. Carsman said the citations probably were written to motorists who leased or rented the cars from Galpin.

Under state law, the company has 30 days to provide the city with the names of the customers. After that, Galpin becomes liable for the fines, according to Carsman.

Boeckmann, a delegate to the recent GOP national convention, said he is not liable because his employees regularly provide the city Transportation Department with the names and addresses of Galpin customers who received tickets.

In addition, Boeckmann says the dealership sometimes pays tickets for employees and, in other special cases, for customers.

In most cases, Boeckmann insisted, the dealership sends the city the required information.

Several larger rental agencies, such as Avis, provide the information on computer disks.

Rental agencies routinely are billed when they fail to provide information to the city, officials said. The city has sent notices to most of the large automobile rental agencies as well as to Federal Express and United Parcel Service, the officials said. In one recent case, Carsman said one agency agreed to settle back claims for $3 million.

City records provided by Carsman, and now under review, show that outstanding tickets exist on 162 vehicles registered to Galpin dating back five years.

In his letter to Boeckmann, Carsman said the dealership has lost the ability to contest the citations. But Inouye said Boeckmann could still seek a court order to review every ticket.

Carsman’s letter also stated that the supporting documentation was at least two inches thick and that Boeckmann would have to make an appointment to review it in Carsman’s office.

But Inouye said he found the letter inaccurate and added that he would conduct a speedy review. He said he has appointed an investigator to look into the tickets and Carsman’s role.

For his part, Carsman says he just wants the money due the city.

“This is my job,” said Carsman. “Whether the person is a friend of mine or a public official, it really doesn’t make any difference. It’s dollars and sense--that’s all it is.”