Inspection Fraud Hotline Set for Restaurant Owners

After a Los Angeles County restaurant inspector allegedly accepted a cash payment in exchange for an A grade recently, county supervisors approved a new fraud hotline for restaurant owners Tuesday.

Proposed by Los Angeles County Supervisor Mike Antonovich, the restaurant inspection hotline will be connected to the Inspection and Audit Division of the Department of Health Services.

The office of the auditor-controller will be in charge of the hotline, said Cam Currier, a spokesman for Antonovich.

Antonovich’s motion for the hotline was passed unanimously during Tuesday’s meeting of the Board of Supervisors.

“This vote should send a message to inspectors that we have zero tolerance for those who would undermine our grading system like this,” Currier said.

“It should also send a message to the public that an A grade means an A grade, which is 90% compliance with health codes, and that nobody is selling A grade cards or doing favors for friends.”

Tipsters will be guaranteed immunity against retaliation by the department, Currier said.

The hotline, to be used by restaurant owners and managers only, is (800) 490-0014.

On Monday, health inspector Orlando Arias was arrested on suspicion of bribery after a videotape showed him apparently demanding money for an A grade from a Burbank restaurant owner, said Deputy Dist. Atty. Rune Sodonis, who is in charge of the case.

“The owner was wired with a video camera, and it captures the image and voice of the inspector soliciting a bribe from the owner,” Sodonis said.

He added that the tape shows him accepting $200 from the restaurant owner.

Arias was charged with one count of bribery and another count of altering a public document and could face a maximum prison term of five years, Sodonis said.

Arias will be arraigned Dec. 1.