Mother, Son Charged With Shooting Death of Granada Hills Man

An alleged mother-and-son con artist duo, already awaiting trial in New York in the slaying of an elderly Manhattan socialite, have been charged with capital murder for an earlier San Fernando Valley slaying.

Prosecutors now say Kenneth Kimes, 23, and his mother, Sante, 63, killed David Kazdin, 63, of Granada Hills and dumped his body in a trash bin at Los Angeles International Airport in March 1998.

The Kimeses knew Kazdin for 20 years, authorities said, and allegations of real estate fraud by the mother and son using Kazdin’s name emerged during the investigation into his death.

The Los Angeles district attorney’s office, which quietly filed charges against the pair last month, allege that the younger Kimes actually pulled the trigger, according to court papers.

Prosecutors said in court papers that the pair ambushed Kazdin, killed him for financial gain and because he was a “witness to a crime”--special circumstances that could carry the death penalty.

Sandi Gibbons, a spokeswoman for Dist. Atty. Gil Garcetti, would not comment on the charges Wednesday except to say that the Kimeses will not be extradited to face charges in Los Angeles until the New York trial is completed.

The New York case involves the slaying of Irene Silverman, a wealthy 82-year-old widow whom authorities say the pair killed because they wanted her $3-million mansion on Manhattan’s East Side. Authorities said Kenneth Kimes leased an apartment in the widow’s mansion.

When arrested last year shortly after her disappearance, the Kimeses allegedly had the victim’s keys, Social Security card, passports and old payroll stubs from Radio City Music Hall, where Silverman worked as a dancer in her youth. Silverman’s body has never been found.

The Kimeses initially were arrested by New York authorities in July 1998 in connection with passing a bad check for the purchase of a luxury car in Utah. Inside the car authorities reportedly found a ledger containing the names of three people, including Kazdin, who are either missing or dead. Also found was a box of .22-caliber cartridges, the same size used to kill Kazdin, authorities said.