LAPD Officer Suspected of Role in Prostitution Ring

A veteran Los Angeles police officer is under investigation for his alleged participation in a prostitution ring that masqueraded as a legitimate escort service, according to court documents.

Detectives suspect that Officer Eric Garcia, 37, significantly augmented his LAPD salary by working as a part-time pimp, dispatching prostitutes, including his live-in girlfriend, to Los Angeles area hotels and motels to have sex with customers, according to affidavits filed in support of search warrants.

A judge approved those warrants, and detectives searched Garcia’s home, credit union records and Wilshire Division police locker for evidence of his suspected “criminal profiteering from prostitution.”

Financial records seized from Garcia’s police credit union account show that he made cash deposits totaling $22,000 over a six-week period this spring. Investigators also seized $7,000 in cash--in $100 and $50 denominations--from an envelope marked “August” atop a dresser from his Pico Rivera home. One search was conducted in August and a second was done last month.

Garcia, relieved from active duty at the Police Department while the investigation is underway, did not respond to requests for comment. He has not been charged with any crime, though a district attorney’s official this week confirmed that criminal charges against the officer and others allegedly involved in the business “are under review.”

Garcia’s girlfriend declined to comment on the case.

No other police officers are suspected of involvement in the operation, a source close to the case said.

The investigation into Garcia started in June when an LAPD vice detective noticed an ad in the yellow pages of a telephone directory for “A Plus Escort Service.” Suspicious that the service was a front for prostitution, the detective called to arrange for an escort to meet him at a Van Nuys hotel.

“A male adult, calling himself ‘Jason,’ later identified as Eric Garcia, answered the call,” according to a search warrant affidavit. “He stated the rate was $200 cash for a one-hour massage and ‘companionship.’ ”

About an hour after the call, a woman showed up at the undercover officer’s door and allegedly agreed to have sex for money, according to the affidavits. The woman was not arrested at that time to protect the secrecy of the ongoing investigation, the documents state.

Over the next few months, detectives continued to build a case against Garcia and the service, which is owned by Nick P. David. David, 33, is also a target of the investigation, the affidavits said. As part of their case, undercover detectives obtained alleged prostitution violations against other escorts who worked for the service.

Additionally, according to the court documents, David and Garcia allegedly incriminated themselves in connection with illegal activities of the service during telephone conversations with escorts, which were tape-recorded by detectives.

Investigators suspect that as many as 28 escorts worked for the service. By Aug. 22, 2001, the service had generated $159,000 in credit card business alone, court documents show.

David, who according to a district attorney spokesperson was sentenced to three years’ probation after pleading no contest to an unrelated felony pimping charge in 1998, denied the recent allegations that he was involved in an illegal escort service.

David said A Plus escorts give massages or “provide companionship” at the rate of $200 an hour. His service does not condone any illegal activity, including prostitution, he said.

He added that he could not be held responsible for what his employees do behind closed doors.

“If an escort wants to do that service on her own, to make money just for her, are we still pimping?” David asked. “That’s her business.”

“I’m innocent,” David said.

David said he told detectives he met Garcia through a woman who had been working as an escort for his service for about three years. He described Garcia as the woman’s boyfriend.

According to David, Garcia “worked the phones” for the service, receiving a commission for every meeting he arranged between escorts and clients. David said he did not know if Garcia was aware of any alleged illegal acts by the escorts.

He declined to provide any more details about Garcia’s role in the escort service, but said he cooperated fully with the police.

“They asked me questions about Eric. I gave them the answers,” David said.

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Times staff writer Lee Romney contributed to this report.