Tracing Route of Radio
Thefrontpageonline.com has learned from police insiders that the Culver City police radio may have been checked by one of the most prominent figures in City Hall — not by his father, Albert Vera Sr., who retired in late April after serving three terms on the City Council. “I would not be surprised if this, let’s call it ‘situation,’ the checkout, is being cleaned up right now by the department,” a source said late Tuesday. “Don’t look for it to be pursued. But don’t look for this to go away, either.” Mr. Vera Jr., whom some friends say has not quite found his true working niche in life, probably would have been familiar with operation of a police radio. Formerly a reserve police officer, one of the favorite career storylines among friends and family members is that he always wanted to be a police officer but his father was against the notion.
For years, the Veras, father and son, have been the most talked-about political family in Culver City, each one, however, for a very different reason. With a police radio, Mr. Vera Jr. could have monitored the actions of a number of law enforcement agencies, presumably including the Redondo department that arrested him.
Different This Time
For Mr. Vera Jr., this was at least his third known brush with police, increasing the likelihood of doing time if he is found guilty. In contrast to Mr. Vera’s last known run-in with police, which was hidden for weeks from City Hall, official Culver City was informed of Junior Vera’s Friday arrest in a timely fashion, within hours after it happened. A City Hall source explained that new Police Chief Don Pedersen was meticulous about informing City Hall’s top tier of leadership of the Vera arrest because of the pending civil lawsuit filed last summer against Mr. Vera Sr. and the city by Police Officer Heidi Keyantash.
An Irony of the Case
Ironically, this was the month that Mr. Vera was scheduled to complete an eighteen-month drug diversion program. The penalty stemmed from a notorious encounter with Culver City police — once his employer — on Saturday, Aug. 7, 2004, in the parking lot of Coco’s Restaurant, across Sepulveda Boulevard from Temple Akiba.
Th notoriety in the incident was only partially related to Mr. Vera Jr. He had been stopped for a five years’ late car registration. Mr. Vera’s father, Albert Sr., a longtime civic official, was accused of allegedly interfering with police while they were questioning his son. Mr. Vera Jr. was chareged with misdemeanor drug possession. He went to court three months later and was assigned to the aforementioned drug program.
Vera Lawyer Was Pleased
“This case was handled just as it should have been,” the lawyer for Mr. Vera Jr. said at the time. “He was treated like any other person similarly situated.”
Meantime, Ms. Keyantash, a veteran Culver City officer, filed a civil suit against Mr. Vera Sr. for reasons having to do with an alleged power play by the erstwhile Councilman. Ms. Keyantash is believed to be seeking millions from the retired mayor. As recently as last week, Ms. Keyantash’s attorney, Terry Goldberg, talked of a plan to bring this case into a courtroom in early July, eleven months after the lawsuit was filed against Mr. Vera Sr. and the city of Culver City.
At the holiday juncture, legal observers were not clear if or how the latest police encounter by Mr. Vera Jr. would affect his father’s case.
A ‘Curious Array’
Police sources told thefrontpageonline.com that when Redondo police came upon Mr. Vera last Friday that he had a “curious array” in his possession. They said he had a deputy sheriff’s badge, a police radio, a flashlight (presumably for illuminating small patches of the darkened construction site) and a loaded gun. It was learned that police suspect he may have been on drugs at the time, namely methamphetamine. Now that the holiday is over, it will be up to the District Attorney’s Office to determine if further charges will be brought against the suspect, who is not a stranger to the agency.
What could Mr. Vera have been doing around a construction site in the middle of the night? Police insiders theorized that burglary may have been his objective even though he comes from a family that ostensibly is financially comfortable. “If drugs were involved, it could have been for a double thrill,” one officer said, “committing an act and the possibility of getting caught,” Tools, you see, are easy to sell. They don’t carry any traceable numbers.”
