Not So Safe: Bank Loses Safe-Deposit Box, Heirlooms

Edward Hecht recalls vividly what was in his safe-deposit box at a Fountain Valley bank. After all, he had been checking on its precious contents--family jewelry and heirlooms--from time to time for 20 years.

But four months ago, Hecht stopped by the bank and was horrified to learn that his box, which he had rented since 1979, simply wasn’t there anymore.

“It’s my family heritage,” Hecht, 59, said of the valuables, which include antique pins, bracelets, necklaces, gold coins and his mother’s diamond ring. He estimated the monetary value of the collection at about $250,000 and said the sentimental value is priceless: “My parents passed it on to me to pass on to my son.”

Officials at the bank--the former Home Savings branch at Brookhurst Avenue and Garfield Street--could not explain then or now what happened.

Tim McGarry, a spokesman for Washington Mutual, which recently merged with Home Savings, said, “Mr. Hecht’s box has not been located.”

An earlier merger may be to blame for the misplaced deposit box, McGarry said. Home Savings acquired Coast Federal bank early last year and closed some of its branches. That meant the contents of some Coast Federal safe-deposit boxes had to be moved, requiring Home Savings to reorganize space at Fountain Valley and some other branches, McGarry said. Box holders at Home Savings’ affected locations were notified by letter that a team of employees might be opening their boxes to inventory and transfer the contents.

Hecht, who lives in Fountain Valley, recalls receiving a letter informing him of the pending merger and phoning a bank official, who assured him that all would be well. It was not until June, when he went to get a ring that he had intended to give as a gift, that he realized there was a problem.

“I go the bank, sign my name and they let me into the vault area,” he said. “I had the key in my hand, and we couldn’t find the box with my number on it. Finally they told me to go wait in the lobby.”

The experience, Hecht said, has been emotionally devastating: “This has torn me apart.”

McGarry said Washington Mutual has thoroughly examined its own records and has searched each of the security boxes stored at the Fountain Valley branch and at the Monrovia headquarters of Banktech, the company hired to store safe-deposit boxes during the move and dispose of any that no longer were needed.

As far as he knows, McGarry said, Hecht’s is the only box that was lost.

“This is more like a whodunit than I’m usually involved in,” he said. “We will continue to do whatever we can to resolve this. Obviously it’s very important to Mr. Hecht and very important to us. He is understandably upset, and if the box is not located after exhausting every effort, Mr. Hecht will be in a position to submit a claim.”

That is not what Hecht wants, however.

“There’s no money settlement in the world that would compensate for the loss,” he said. “I want my things back. They’ve got to be somewhere.”