Bartering Company Officer Charged With Pandering

The district manager of a bartering company was charged Thursday with pimping and pandering by prosecutors who said he tried to add a prostitute to his list of clients who exchange services such as plastic surgery, car repairs and plumbing.

Los Angeles police officers arrested Martin Nobler, 57, of the Burbank branch of Barter Exchange International, or BXI, on July 30 after he asked a female undercover detective to offer sexual favors to members of the exchange.

Also charged with pimping and pandering was Diane Mary Salutare, 40, of Toluca Lake, who allegedly used help wanted ads in local publications--also members of the exchange--to hire prostitutes under the guise of offering massage parlor jobs. She eventually introduced these women to Nobler, police said.

Salutare is also suspected of operating her own prostitution operation, according to authorities.

Police were tipped off by a BXI employee who was concerned about the reputation of the company, which was founded 36 years ago in Huntington Beach and is the nation’s oldest barter exchange business.

“BXI was extremely cooperative, to the point of helping us find an undercover account,” said Lt. David Muro, head of the prostitution section of LAPD’s Organized Crime and Vice Division. Another detective, who posed as a barter exchange member, asked Nobler to provide him with a prostitute, according to Muro.

“The customers were all BXI members,” Muro said. He said Salutare told him “her clients were all celebrities and rich people.”

Both are free on $25,000 bail, Muro said. Arraignment is pending.

Bartering is a multibillion-dollar industry that blossoms during economic downturns, when people have little cash. Most clients are small business owners looking for alternatives to cash purchases of goods and services. In 1996, BXI boasted 45,000 members and 102 offices in the United States and abroad.

Items and services available for trade include airline magazine advertisements, meat, wine, janitorial supplies, hairstyling and fireplace mantles, Muro said.