LAPD’s Mastro Is the Maestro of Good Deeds

Dan Mastro leans forward, elbows on the table, fists clenched, eyes open wide.

“Listen to this,” the veteran LAPD sergeant says. “This is great stuff.”

Then, with the zeal most cops reserve for telling tales of taking down suspects, high-speed chases or the like, Mastro makes his pitch.

“I’m talking about a Halloween food drive,” he says. “Food for candy--it’ll be great.”

The topic of conversation would come as no surprise to those who know Mastro. A review of his resume reveals not only food drives for the hungry, but Christmas toy drives, fund-raisers for the Special Olympics and the Boy Scouts of America, and countless other volunteer activities--all on his own time.

“He’s a man who could sell ice to Eskimos,” said Eric Rose, an aide to City Councilwoman Laura Chick, who is familiar with Mastro’s off-duty efforts.

“But he doesn’t just talk the talk,” Rose added. “He gets things done.”

Mastro’s image is that of one of the squeaky-clean cops on the old TV series “Adam-12.” He uses the words “dang” and “frickin’ ” in place of the terms most veteran cops prefer. He goes to the gym five days a week, to church on Sunday and calls his mom, who lives in Pacoima, almost every day.

But Mastro, 46, is perhaps best known for his hair, a near perfect light brown helmet with which he is allegedly obsessed.

“I think the guy could walk through a hurricane and there wouldn’t be one hair out of place,” joked Mastro’s former boss, LAPD Capt. Valentino Paniccia.

Added Paniccia, “He is never without an idea.”

Mastro was born and raised in Pacoima. After graduating from Monroe High School in North Hills at 17, he joined the Navy and volunteered for duty in Vietnam, where he served on a salvage ship.

After the war, he enrolled at Mission College in Sylmar, where he was its first graduate, earning an associate’s degree in administration of justice. In 1976, he joined the LAPD. The divorced father of two lives in Simi Valley.

Mastro said his charitable endeavors are motivated, in part, by the death and despair he’s seen after more than 20 years as a cop.

He talks about the smiling faces of Special Olympians after an event, or the surprise of a child opening a Christmas present he might not otherwise have received.

“It’s just such good stuff,” he says. “That’s all the thanks I need.”

In 1993, Mastro was selected Police Protectors Humanitarian of the Year for his involvement with at-risk youth as head of the West Valley’s anti-gang unit. He has since been promoted to assistant watch commander.

Chick plans to introduce a resolution later this month asking the full council to issue a proclamation congratulating Mastro for his work.

Predictably, Mastro gets razzed about his do-gooder image by some of his fellow cops.

“Oh, we hammer him,” said Ken Knox, a senior lead officer at the West Valley station who has worked with Mastro for 10 years. “It’s kind of gotten to be a joke around the division that Danny does more charity work than he does police work.

“He’s a hambone deluxe,” Knox said, referring to Mastro’s frequent appearance on TV and in the newspaper. “But he’s got a heart of gold.”

In 1992, colleagues jokingly threatened to shoot paint balls at billboards on which Mastro and local sports stars were featured as positive role models for kids.

Sometimes, the ribbing had more of an edge to it.

Last year, Mastro initiated the “We Care Bear” program in which police cars were equipped with teddy bears to be given to youngsters who had suffered a traumatic experience.

Some officers, who apparently thought the teddy bear distribution would be better left to social workers, deemed the stuffed animals the “Who Cares Bears.”

Mastro says he’s not fazed by such attitudes.

In fact, after 22 years with the LAPD, he’s thinking about calling it quits to pursue “the good stuff” full time.

His prospects?

“I don’t know,” said Mastro, who hasn’t sent out any resumes or been interviewed by an prospective employers.

“I may go to work for the President,” he said, not joking.

“Whatever it is, it’s going to be something big,” he said. “It’s going to be something that matters.”

Chick said Mastro has at least one key ingredient in the recipe for a successful career in politics.

“He’s got a lot of good ideas, and his track record is outstanding,” Chick said. “I don’t see why he wouldn’t be as successful out of uniform as he is in uniform.”