Influential Personality
The father is regarded as one of the best-positioned, most influential political figures on the Westside. Police sources say that when a Vera is arrested or even stopped, flashing signals go off in the offices of certain persons of stature in Los Angeles County.
When police searched the sons home this week, insiders told thefrontpageonline.com, they found a sawed-off shotgun, drugs and evidence that he was part of a large burglary ring.
Outside Help Needed
No mention was made of any discoveries when police searched the family business, a popular ethnic Italian market in the same South Sepulveda Boulevard location since the early 1960s.
In an aside that may illustrate the unusual and critically sensitive position of the Vera men in Culver City, a suspected burglar or robber stealthily approached the family market one night last month.
When father and son became aware of his presence, Mr. Vera Jr. chased him out the back way of the store. The suspect, younger, likely, than his pursuer, made a clean getaway.
Who Will Use the Telephone?
Came time to call the cops. A police source told the newspaper the Vera men faced a conundrum.
Who would dial the Culver City P.D.?
The two looked at each other.
Given their recent history with the police, it did not seem prudent for either to initiate the call.
At length, they decided to telephone a family friend. She agreed to report the intrusion.
What Was Stolen
This time, Mr. Vera Jr. stands charged with stealing a vending machine coin dispenser, according to police. The suspect was positively identified by the witness, police said.
At his arraignment Thursday morning, the robbery suspect pleaded not guilty to 3 felony counts grand theft of personal property, vandalism of an object where the damage exceeded $400 and possession of a loaded firearm that was not registered. A fourth count, being in possession of burglary tools, is a misdemeanor.
Incarceration
The 42-year-old Mr. Vera, according to the website of the County Sheriffs Dept., remains in the custody of the Sheriff, where he has been since a little before midnight on Tuesday.
At the Vera arraignment, the judge granted the $75,000 bail that was sought by the District Attorneys Office. Originally, Mr. Veras bail was set at $25,000. His preliminary hearing is scheduled for next Thursday.
As seems to have become standard operating procedure in police matters involving the Vera men, numerous departures from customary practices are noted.
Three agencies are directly involved in this case:
The El Segundo Police Dept., which, ultimately, issue a terse, bare-bones account,
The Culver City Police Dept., which, so far, has not commented on its role, and
The County Sheriffs Dept., which has a history of participation when a Vera is involved.
Transparent, It Isnt
Circumstances surrounding the latest arrest of Mr. Vera Jr., not surprisingly, loom behind a veil of mystery.
For example, in the single sheet of disclosure by El Segundo police, there is no indication of any role by the Sheriffs Dept., although, in fact, the department was a major presence.
The booking number on the El Segundo sheet actually belongs to the Sheriffs Dept. although even a close reading would suggest otherwise
A Cultural Thing
To understand fully why El Segundo police, Culver City police and the Sheriff were involved in the apprehension of Mr. Vera Jr., numerous sources said today, it would require a comprehensive knowledge of the political culture of small towns.
Although some factual information disclosed by El Segundo police seemed to be erroneous, it appears Mr. Vera Jr. was arrested at 11:05 p.m., on Tuesday.
Clarity Vanishes
The site and the reason for apprehending him are cloudier.
The owner of the stolen vending machine coin dispenser described the suspect and the vehicle he was driving in a report to the police.
Thereupon, Mr. Vera Jr. was pulled over in an industrial neighborhood, just east of busy Sepulveda Boulevard, an area with which he probably was familiar.
True or Not?
El Segundo police, possibly through clerical error, listed an apparently non-existent address as the site of the arrest.
Management-types from the Sheriffs Dept. were reported at the arrest scene, plainly no coincidence. In the words of one insider, this is primarily a Sheriffs case.
Sources said it would not be surprising if the younger Mr. Vera constantly had been under surveillance.
Stashing Suspects
Among police departments, the word long has been that when they want to hide a celebrated suspect, he is sent to the Sheriffs custody.
In Culver City, it happened two years ago this week, sources said, when the late Ralph Vera was involved in a morning rush-hour traffic accident on the northern end of Sepulveda Boulevard. He was brought to the West Hollywood station, eventually was bailed out, and he died about 8 months later.
