May 5, 1995

ABUSE INQUIRY TARGETS PASADENA’S EX-CHIEF

The girlfriend of former Police Department head accused him of beating her but later recanted. He is now living in Virginia and has declined to comment.

By RICHARD WINTON AND CHIP JACOBS

Special to the Times

The Los Angeles County district attorney's office is conducting a criminal investigation into whether recently departed Pasadena Police Chief Jerry A. Oliver repeatedly beat his girlfriend while serving as the city's top police official.

The girlfriend subsequently recanted her allegations that Oliver abused her at least seven times between October, 1993, and June, 1994. The description of the physical abuse is contained in a summarized police report obtained by The Times.

Oliver, who resigned from his Pasadena post last month to become police chief of Richmond, Va., declined to comment through a city official there.

In Pasadena, City Manager Philip A. Hawkey said he was aware of the district attorney's probe and has informed City Council members.

"Jerry told me about this last fall," Hawkey said.

Citing policy, a district attorney's spokeswoman refused to confirm or deny whether there is an investigation of Oliver. However, Pasadena's acting city attorney, Cristina L. Sierra, said she had been in recent contact with prosecutors and confirmed the probe is taking place.

Three years ago, Oliver's fourth wife accused him of repeated physical abuse and electronic surveillance during their 14-month marriage, according to divorce records filed in court. Jackie Oliver also made a 911 "family disturbance" call to Pasadena police in the fall of 1991. Oliver denied her allegations.

Oliver, 48, was a popular figure during his four-year stint in Pasadena. Among other achievements, he was credited with pioneering a community policing program and the country's first ammunition registration law.

According to the police report, Oliver struck his girlfriend with his fist, causing a facial injury. In another confrontation listed in the report, she claimed that Oliver hurt her so badly that she needed medical treatment, including a neck brace.

The report said that, in a separate incident, Oliver squeezed the woman's hand so tightly it bled, and that he verbally and mentally abused her throughout their relationship. The alleged abuse occurred during a seven-month period at Oliver's Pasadena house, the Ritz-Carlton Huntington Hotel and other unspecified locations, the report said.

The girlfriend's name was not mentioned in the records obtained by The Times, but Hawkey confirmed that she was the alleged victim.

The girlfriend, a county health worker, did not return several phone calls seeking comment. Sources familiar with the probe said she has refused to help the district attorney's office prosecute the case. Last summer she contacted police about the alleged beatings but has since recanted the allegations, according to Pasadena officials and police records.

However, even if the victim in a criminal case does not file charges or declines to cooperate, authorities can still file charges. In such cases, prosecutors can rely on medical records, eyewitness accounts and other evidence.

Several Pasadena City Council members said they were stunned by the 1- to 2-year-old allegations and were unhappy that they were not told about it by city officials until this week.

"It's unfortunate something like this wasn't told to the entire council. We should have been briefed with more efficiency," Councilman Chris Holden said.

Councilman William Crowfoot said he learned of the domestic violence claims only after recent media inquiries and knew nothing about the district attorney's investigation. Hawkey "didn't tell me this last fall," Crowfoot said.

Hawkey said the Oliver matter was a personnel issue and thus a confidential one. Because of that, Hawkey, who has authority to hire and fire the police chief, said he told only the mayor and the mayor pro tem.

In Virginia, Richmond City Manager Robert Bobb said Oliver told him he had had problems with his girlfriend but did not mention a criminal investigation. "We have to discuss these issues with Mr. Oliver," Bobb said. "If there is something wrong, file charges against him. Don't let it drag out and ruin a person's reputation."

Pasadena officials have refused to release the full June police report, and only confirmed the district attorney's probe Thursday.

On April 4, City Atty. Sierra said the only domestic violence incident she knew about involving Oliver and the girlfriend was a January telephone call to police from a person outside the city asking officers to check on the girlfriend's "welfare" at Oliver's home. No police report was ever filed in that case. On April 20-one day before Oliver left his Pasadena job-Sierra released the summarized police report of Oliver's alleged abuse and acknowledged knowing about the summarized report's existence for a week.

copyright Los Angeles Times

Money Train, published in Los Angeles City Beat. Why would U.S. Congressman Ernest Istook from Oklahoma come to Los Angeles to raise money? Perhaps because he holds the purse strings to critical federal transportation dollars.
March 10, 2005

MOVING DOWN THE ROAD, Pasadena Weekly
http://chipjacobs.com/a_movingdown.html
Moving Down the Road, published in the Pasadena Weekly. The Caltrans 700,000 square-foot tower owes its existence to the 1994 Northridge earthquake, union muscle, and a tincture of politics.
July 10, 2003

TUNNEL VISIONS, Pasadena Weekly, Caltrans Tenants Association
http://www.caltranstenants.com/tunnel.html
Tunnel Visions, published in Pasadena Weekly. Caltrans may dig deep to find a way out of its 710 Freeway debacle.
(Part III of Corridor of Shame series)
May 22, 2003

THE UNTOUCHABLES, Pasadena Weekly, Caltrans Tenants Association
http://www.caltranstenants.com/slumlord.html
The Untouchables, published in Pasadena Weekly. Slumlord Caltrans uses legal immunity to hold tenants and the cities of Los Angeles, Pasadena, and South Pasadena at bay, as long-needed repairs to homes the agency owns along the proposed 710 Freeway route fester. (Part II of Corridor of Shame series)
May 15, 2003

NO EXIT, Pasadena Weekly
http://chipjacobs.com/a_noexit.html
No Exit, published in Pasadena Weekly. Once stately properties that Caltrans bought 30 years ago to complete the still unfinished Long Beach 710 Freeway stand as a testament of neglect by one of the most powerful agencies in California. (Part I of Corridor of Shame series)
May 8, 2003

SOME MTA DRIVERS GET PHYSICAL, Daily News of Los Angeles
http://chipjacobs.com/a_mtadriversphys.html
Some MTA Drivers Get Physical, published in Daily News Los Angeles. Attacks on Metropolitan Transportation Agency riders not always punished and nearly 20 cases remain unsolved or lost due to poor record keeping.
June 24, 1996

SUBWAY TUNNEL WALLS AT RISK, REPORT WARNS, Daily News of Los Angeles
http://chipjacobs.com/pdfs/subwaytunnelwallsatrsk1.pdf
Subway Tunnel Walls at Risk, Report Warns, published in Daily News Los Angeles. Just three years after the first segment of the Metro Red Line was opened at a cost of $1.45 billion, the Army Corps of Engineers says the subway’s concrete walls are at risk of being eaten away by chemical-laced ground water.  MTA officials say water-damage threat small. 
April 11, 1996

MTA SPENT BIG TO SUGARCOAT TUNNELING, Daily News of Los Angeles
http://chipjacobs.com/pdfs/mtaspentbig1.pdf
MTA Spent Big to Sugarcoat Tunneling, published in Daily News Los Angeles. During the 1994 holiday season, the Metropolitan Transportation Agency spent about $400,000 in public funds to bring a Yule-tide bonanza to Hollywood boulevard. Opponents say humbug to mitigation efforts, labeling it as pork barrel or misguided.
September 24, 1995

HOMES OWNED BY CALTRANS NOT KEPT UP, RECORDS SHOW, The Los Angeles Times
http://chipjacobs.com/a_homesowned.html
Homes Owned by CalTrans Not Kept Up, Records Show, published in The Los Angeles Times. Dozens of homes the state acquired along the un-built Long Beach (710) Freeway pathway sit in such disrepair they either can’t be leased or whip up renters’ complaints about slumlord practices. Twenty-seven homes still part of the holdings are not even needed to construct the long-delayed project. Caltrans defends maintenance.
April 26, 1995

CALTRANS MISSED SAFETY DEADLINE, San Gabriel Valley Tribune
http://chipjacobs.com/pdfs/caltransmissed1.pdf
CalTrans Missed Safety Deadline, published in  the San Gabriel Valley Tribune. Despite a legally etched state deadline, Caltrans missed a key deadline to strengthen more than 1000 freeway bridges, including most of the structures crippled in the Northridge earthquake. Bridge contracts overdue.
February 4, 1994

PROBLEMS PILE UP ALONG METRO LINE, San Gabriel Valley Tribune
http://chipjacobs.com/pdfs/problemspileupmetro1.pdf
Problems Pile up Along Metro Line, published in San Gabriel Valley Tribune. First came the charges of shoddy construction. Then the claims of massive cost overruns.  Now more troubles are brewing for Los Angeles’ new subway:  wage violations against workers actually building the Metro Red Line.
October 16, 1993

FREEWAY WORK: A PERILOUS PAYCHECK, San Gabriel Valley Tribune
http://chipjacobs.com/pdfs/freewayworkperilouspaycheck1.pdf
Freeway Work: A Perilous Paycheck, published in San Gabriel Valley Tribune. Caltrans workers face death everyday and Caltrans needs to further protect its exposed maintenance crew.
Sept. 4, 1993

TRANSIT COMMISSION AUDITORS CAST EAGLE EYE ON TUTOR’S COSTS, Los Angeles Business Journal
http://chipjacobs.com/a_transit.html
Transit commission Auditors Cast Eagle Eye on Tutor’s Costs, published in Los Angeles Business Journal. Los Angeles County Transportation Commission auditors are questioning tens of thousands of dollars in overhead expenses that powerhouse Metro Rail contractor Tutor-Saliba Corp. submitted two years ago, according to a preliminary audit obtained by the Business Journal.
September 28, 1992

METRO RAIL COST-OVERRUN TAB ADDS TO CITY HALL FISCAL WOES, Los Angeles Business Journal
http://chipjacobs.com/a_metrorail.htm
Metro Rail Cost-Overrun Tab adds to the City Hall Fiscal Woes, published in Los Angeles Business Journal. The City of Los Angeles is on the hook to pay $100 million in Metro Rail Red Line construction overruns under a little-known cost-sharing deal with the Los Angeles County Transportation Commission.
March 16, 1992

Title: The man
URL: http://www.chipjacobs.com/wd_theman.html

Almost broke, living on handouts with his mom in a shabby apartment outside post-war Los Angeles, Gordon Zahler, a paralyzed kid in his mid-twenties got an idea. He'd re-sell the music of a dead man -- the music his father, Lee Zahler, composed during his workhorse career in early Hollywood. Within a few years, mother and son would be working for MGM on a Doris-Day romp and for Hollywood's most beloved hack, Ed Wood Jr., on Plan Nine from Outer Space. A decade later they had a house above the Sunset Strip in a comeback story too farfetched for any screenplay.