Resale Shop That Funds Research Is Hit by Burglars

Ever since Saturday morning, when burglars walked out of Becca’s Chic Boutique in Woodland Hills with about $25,000 in used designer suits, coats and evening gowns, the owners of the store--Becca Smith and her mother, Pam--have been holding out one simple hope:

That whoever broke the back-door bolt and stole the clothes missed the front door sign that says where the store’s profits go.

In the immaculate Ventura Boulevard shop, every Prada pump, every Chanel suit, every Armani tie has been donated. So have the computers.

All profits from the resale shop go toward research on Ataxia-Telangiectasia, an extremely rare, degenerative genetic disorder that 23-year-old Becca Smith has.

Because A-T is so rare, afflicting at most 600 Americans, it lacks the fund-raising clout of more common diseases. So from the time Becca was diagnosed at age 4, raising money for a cure has been the Smith family crusade.

Becca’s Chic Boutique is Becca Smith’s own personal effort. She works there at least two days a week, even though her hands don’t always do what she wants them to do, speaking can be difficult and she needs to be helped out of her electric wheelchair.

About 5:30 a.m. Saturday, the Smiths were awakened in their Hidden Hills home by the security company reporting that the store alarm had gone off. When asked whether he wanted the police called, George Smith, Becca’s father, said no. He thought it was a false alarm.

But when an employee arrived at the store a few hours later, the back door was wide open, clothes were strewn on the floor and racks were bare. About one-third of the inventory had disappeared.

Monday afternoon, Becca stared at the empty space and frowned.

“I was kind of shocked when I heard,” she said. “I don’t know. It’s sad. I couldn’t really believe it.”

“Norma, did they take my green Escada suit that I wore to my daughter’s wedding?” Pam Smith asked an employee, Norma Maralliva. She was relieved a moment later to find it still on a rack.

A-T affects the nervous system, causing loss of balance and muscle control and eventually making it difficult to talk, read or write. It also weakens the immune system. Those who have it generally live short lives, and the Smiths know many A-T sufferers who have died before age 30.

But Becca and her family are fighters. Becca attends Moorpark Community College, where she’s pursuing an associate’s degree in history and social science.

Her parents are committed to helping her live her life to the fullest and to fueling A-T research. In 1984, they founded the A-T Medical Research Foundation, which has been the disease’s fund-raising powerhouse. They have raised $3 million and given $3 million more. Foundation funds have underwritten research centers at UCLA and Tel Aviv University.

In 1995, with the help of foundation money, researchers isolated the A-T gene. They’re getting closer to producing a universal test for the disease, which can be passed on when both parents carry the gene, Pam Smith said.

George Smith is chief executive of George Smith Partners Inc., which finances and consults on major real estate projects. Each year, he holds what is widely acknowledged as the area’s biggest real-estate networking luncheon. About 1,700 people attend, and at least $300,000 is raised for the foundation.

At this year’s luncheon, in Century City last month, Steve Soboroff, the real estate broker who ran for mayor this year, asked Becca whether her store sold ties. When she said yes, he took his tie off and challenged each man attending to either take his tie off and donate it or put $20 on the table.

At the front of the shop, a table is piled with those ties, bearing exclusive names--Kenzo, Gianni Versace and Hardy Amies, an outfitter to royalty whose shop is on London’s Saville Row.

After the theft was discovered, George Smith sent out an e-mail to his extensive database of Southern California movers and shakers.

“Please don’t let the Grinch destroy what Becca has worked so hard to accomplish,” he wrote, before pleading for donations of clothing and asking each person to send the news to 20 others.

Soon, pledges began pouring in.

Angelo Mozilo, chairman of Countrywide Industries, promised to mobilize his company.

Randall G. Evers, president and chief executive of Integrated Resources Inc., said, “I’ve got a very nice Brooks Bros. suit already cleaned and pressed that I’m too fat to wear.”

“I’m just amazed with the way people are responding, and it’s happening all over the city,” George Smith said.