2 Held in N.Y.C. to Be Questioned in Slaying of Valley Man

Los Angeles police detectives were heading to New York City late Wednesday to interview a mother and son--being questioned there in connection with the sensational disappearance of a wealthy socialite--about the shooting death of a Granada Hills man.

LAPD detectives want to question Sante Kimes, 63, and her son Kenneth Kimes, 23, about the death of 63-year-old David Kazdin, whose body was found in a trash bin near Los Angeles International Airport on March 14, Det. Dennis English said.

Witnesses have told LAPD detectives that Kazdin met the Kimeses more than 20 years ago when they were introduced in Las Vegas, English said. The details of their relationship are sketchy, police said, but detectives are investigating the possibility that Sante Kimes may be responsible for a fraudulent bank loan taken out in January in Kazdin’s name.

“It appears the link with our victim is with loan fraud over some residential property” in Las Vegas, English said.

Before his death, Kazdin had been preparing to retire from a copying business he ran from his house. Friends and family told police Kazdin was a “very likable guy” whose slaying was a shock.

“He was a businessman, he had no problems at all,” English said. “He had a lot of friends and acquaintances who spoke highly of him.”

Sante and Kenneth Kimes were being held in a New York City jail Wednesday night. A joint federal and local law enforcement task force arrested them Sunday night on warrants issued April 4 in Cedar City, Utah, accusing them of using a bogus check to buy a luxury car for $14,973.50.

Meanwhile, New York police are also questioning the Kimeses in the disappearance of wealthy New York widow Irene Silverman, 82, who was last seen by an employee Sunday morning, wandering around in a nightgown at her lavish turn-of-the-century mansion. The employee called police later that day after failing to find Silverman in the home.

Kenneth Kimes rented a $6,000-a-month apartment in Silverman’s home on June 14.

Neither of the Kimeses have been arrested in her disappearance. But fears were heightened after New York investigators learned that Los Angeles police want to question the pair in Kazdin’s death.

When the Kimeses were arrested Sunday at the New York Hilton, Sante Kimes was found with Silverman’s passport, some of her checks and her bank account information, the New York Daily News reported.

New York police continued their search for Silverman on Wednesday, scouring Central Park and trash bins in an attempt to find her body. They did find Kenneth Kimes’ green, late-model Lincoln Continental Wednesday night and were in the process of obtaining a search warrant to inspect it, NYPD Officer Cheryl Cox said.

The LAPD and New York Police Department plan to operate a joint investigation into the Kimeses, English said, adding the New York and Los Angeles cases “appear to be quite similar.”

He said, however, there is no evidence that the Kimeses have any of Kazdin’s personal property.

English said the Kimeses are “migratory individuals” who were living in Bel-Air before leaving the Los Angeles area in March.

The exact timeline of the Kimeses’ travels toward the East Coast was unclear Wednesday. They are believed to have gone to Baton Rouge, La., where Sante Kimes purchased an $80,000 motor home with an allegedly fraudulent personal check at a dealership, English said. That motor home was later recovered in New York.

“I would say they’re very adept,” English said. “They’re involved in loan fraud and bank fraud. [Sante] has the ability of someone that can shmooze you and sway you.” English described her as “manipulative and controlling.”

Sante Kimes was convicted in February 1986 of keeping maids in slavery at posh homes she kept in San Diego, Las Vegas and Honolulu, police said. Her husband, Kenneth Kimes, then 67, had earlier pleaded guilty to a reduced charge in the case.

Prosecutors at the time claimed the couple, who operated a chain of motels, hired illegal aliens as maids and prevented them from talking to relatives or trying to leave. One maid alleged the couple beat her, refused to pay her, forced her to work long hours and refused to let her call anyone. Sante Kimes served a five-year sentence.

Sante Kimes also was convicted in July 1995 of stealing a $6,500 mink coat from a piano bar in the Mayflower Hotel in Washington but fled the area before she could be sentenced.

In the past two years, Kenneth Kimes has been arrested for robbery and other charges, police said.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.