EE FR
WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 24, 2003
Volume 2, Issue 266
Santa Monica Daily Press A newspaper with issues
L O T T O
Motel owner pleads not guilty to city’s charges
The hand-off
FANTASY 5 31, 23, 13, 21, 19
DAILY 3 Afternoon picks: 2, 3, 4 Evening picks: 6, 0, 8
DAILY DERBY
He faces eight criminal counts
1st Place: 4, Big Ben 2nd Place: 3, Hot Shot 3rd Place: 1, Gold Rush Race Time: 1:42.40
BY JOHN WOOD Daily Press Staff Writer
NEWS OF THE WEIRD by Chuck Shepard
QUOTE OF THE DAY
“Three o’clock is always too late or too early for anything you want to do.” — Jean-Paul Sartre
INDEX Horoscopes Happy at home, Gemini . . . . . . . . .2
Local Feeding the cause . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3
Opinion Silverstein in woods too long . . . . .4
State Recall news in ‘fun size’ . . . . . . . . . .7
Real estate Rent, don’t buy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .8
John Wood/Daily Press
The Vikings varsity football team runs drills on Tuesday afternoon at Santa Monica High School.The Vikings (0-2) will play Venice High School Thursday. Only the freshmen football team has a win so far this year at Samohi.
‘Both Hands Bandit’ sought in First Federal robbery Suspect wanted in connection with 12 other robberies BY CAROLYN SACKARIASON Daily Press Staff Writer
First Federal Bank in downtown Santa Monica was robbed on Saturday by a man who federal authorities call the “Both Hands Bandit.” Shortly before 2 p.m., a black man wearing a light blue fisherman’s hat and sunglasses approached a bank teller with a note that read, “You are being robbed. I
Two co-workers die violently in separate incidents BY CAROLYN SACKARIASON
Menopause? Forget about it . . . .14
People in the News Did the butler do it? . . . . . . . . . . .20
The small company where a slain Santa Monica woman worked has lost another employee to murder. CNCG Cellular, based in Marina Del Rey, is a wholesale cellular phone compa-
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“We’ve seen the icing on the cake. Now we want to see the cake.” — RICHARD BEADA Attorney
ny with just nine people in the office. Within the past seven months, the company has had to deal with the loss of two employees, both killed in violent crimes. In February, the company lost 21-yearold data entry worker Kristi Johnson when she was raped and murdered in the Hollywood Hills by a man police describe as a predator with a history of victimizing women.
Neighbors have described Farzam’s two hotels as eyesores that regularly attract drug dealers and prostitutes. They said Farzam, a native of Iran and father of four who lives north of San Vicente Boulevard, has for years let his two properties slip into disrepair. But Farzam said he is being targeted by an overzealous City Hall. He said the bulk of complaints against him stem from one group of unruly guests that refused to leave the Holiday Motel earlier this year. The group apparently used drugs and brought prostitutes to the motel, said Farzam, who added that since he was able to evict them in May the motel has been quiet and safe. Farzam pointed out that although the case was originally submitted to the L.A. District Attorney’s Office, it did not pursue pimping and pandering charges, which are felonies. DA spokeswoman Sandi Gibbons said the evidence against Farzam was not sufficient and the case was sent to City Hall. As a result, Deputy City Attorney Betty Haviland filed eight misdemeanor charges against Farzam. Those charges are two counts of allegedly knowingly and willfully running a house of ill repute, two counts of
See WORKERS, page 6
See NOT GUILTY, page 5
See ROBBER, page 5
Small local company suffers second murdered employee Daily Press Staff Writer
National
want your 100s, 50s and 20s,” according to FBI spokeswoman Laura Bosley. The FBI said the suspect is responsible for at least a dozen bank robberies in Los Angeles since August, with the most recent on Sept. 12 at the Wells Fargo Bank, 3550 Wilshire Blvd. Bosley said the suspect uses both hands to hold the note. He doesn’t speak to the teller and produces no weapon. The FBI didn’t disclose how much money he got away with from the First Federal Bank at 401 Wilshire Blvd.
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The police department in Madera, Calif., and its officer Marcy Noriega filed a lawsuit in July against the manufacturer of Taser guns (nonlethal guns that fire incapacitating electrical charges), claiming it was the company’s fault that Noriega, reaching for her Taser, inadvertently drew her real gun and fatally shot a man resisting arrest. According to Noriega, the Taser looks so much like a real gun that she couldn’t help it, and Taser International Inc., should have provided better warnings and training.
A local motel owner on Tuesday pleaded not guilty to eight criminal charges levied against him by City Hall, from fraud and accepting stolen property to allegedly running a house of ill repute. Maurice Farzam, 51, entered the plea in Santa Monica Superior Court with his lawyer Richard Beada. Beada told Judge Bernard Kamins he is waiting for City Hall to hand over “hours and hours” worth of audio and video evidence gathered before Farzam was arrested. “We’ve seen the icing on the cake,” Beada said after the hearing. “Now we want to see the cake.” In addition to the eight criminal charges, Farzam, owner of the Holiday Motel, 1102 Pico Blvd., and the American Motel, 1243 Lincoln Blvd., faces 91 building code violations. He was arrested in July, capping a yearlong investigation by five law enforcement agencies. Farzam is free on $150,000 bond. He maintained his innocence Tuesday and said business at his two motels has been “very, very slow” since his arrest.
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(310) 395-9922 429 Santa Monica Blvd. Ste. 710 Santa Monica 90401