City Probes Huge Ticket Claim on Boeckmann

Does Bert Boeckmann, Los Angeles Police Commission member and San Fernando Valley 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 official 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 that pits 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. Carsman faxed Galpin a letter Thursday 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 he has had a chance to investigate the letter and allegations of bias against Carsman.

While Carsman denied that he was singling out Galpin, he acknowledged in an interview that he had a “personal interest” in the dealership.

“What I’m doing with Galpin is no different than what I’ve done with any other agency,” Carsman said.

“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 his 21-year-old son had a dispute with Galpin in North Hills eight months ago over the lease of a $40,000 Mustang from the dealership. Carsman said he complained in a letter to former Police Commission president Deidre Hill about the dispute.

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 and Carsman’s boss, said he was concerned about possible inaccuracies in the letter and Carsman’s possible bias against the dealership.

“I want to make sure [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 the Galpin Motors’ office fax machine, Carsman said the dealer must pay the full amount of the delinquent tickets with a cashier’s check by Wednesday.

City records, provided to The Times by Carsman, show that Galpin has nearly 250 outstanding parking tickets on 149 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.

But Boeckmann, a delegate to the recent Republican National Convention, denied that his dealership owes the city money, saying his employees regularly provide the Transportation Department with the names and addresses of Galpin customers who received tickets.

In addition, Boeckmann said the dealership sometimes pays tickets for employees, and in some cases for customers.

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

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

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

City records provided by Carsman, now under review, show that tickets are outstanding 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 Carsman’s boss, Inouye, said Boeckmann could still seek a court order to review every ticket.

The 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. Payment for the tickets, the letter said, should be made by cashier’s check.

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

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

“This is my job,” said Carsman, who has worked for the city for 25 years. “Whether the person is a friend of mine or a public official, it really doesn’t make any difference. It’s dollars and cents--that’s all it is.”