An oversized pick-up truck that was in reverse gear perpendicularly situated ploughed into a rear fender.
Stunned and slightly dazed, the father and son jumped outside as the friendly, smiling driver of the pick-up truck approached.
Looks like no damage here, the driver said cheerily as he wheeled to walk away.
Is That All There Is?
Wait a minute, said the father, pointing to a caved-in area. Theres a huge dent in this fender.
Nah, scoffed the self-assured driver, thinking fast. That was there before.
His words wafted into the typically clear skies over Culver City as he headed for a doorway, bound for the cocooned safety that the inside of his prominent business would provide.
The father and son hardly budged from where they were standing there in the wake of the businessman.
The son, a young adult now wearing a very puzzled look, finally spoke up. No, it wasnt there, he said in a delayed reaction.
You are right, replied his father. He did it. He put the dent there. The fender was fine before he rammed into us.
What Happened?
Slowly emerging from their daze, the father and the son stared at each other. Only briefly did they wonder what had just happened.
Now that it was too late, the father quickly found his tongue. Son, he said, we have just been strong-armed. My fault. I was intimidated.
Two years later, the dent remains in the car as a permanent reminder to the father and son of the day they were humiliated and turned catatonic in a fleeting confrontation.
An Infectious Personality
Being around Al Vera, even on the good side, as a friend, can have that kind of effect on people, said a man who has known Mr. Vera, the immensely successful businessman-politician, since 1993.
I know lots of people love him, worship him. They are even in awe of him.
But Al Vera is a mighty intimidating figure.
Scary. Powerful. Threatening. Kiddingly to his face, more soberly far away from his presence, Mr. Vera is called Godfather. He may be more influential than he says he is, which is a bunch.
A Man of Adjectives
I could think of more adjectives to describe him than anyone I ever have met, said another friend. No question that Albert has a kind and generous side look at all the food he donates to schoolchildren and other groups.
But do not take your eye off the ball. Look away at your peril.
I have lived in Culver City practically all of my life. I know of no man, not one, who would dare confront Albert.
It Takes Time
Albert is not a man to be grasped, to be understood, to be evaluated at a glance.
What you see, my friend, what you think you see, is not the way it actually is way too often.
Comes time for compassion, a friend says.
Between death and serious illness and huge, huge disappointment, Albert has had a tough time the last few years, the person noted, by telephone. Its easy to feel sorrow forAlbert. I do sometimes. Then I catch myself.
Back to Court
Thursday morning at 8:30, Albert Vera Jr. long the focal point of his fathers love, compassion and life is due in a courtroom where he has appeared before as a suspect in a crime.
Over the din of competing criminal investigations leading to the now well-traveled doorstep of Mr. Vera Jr., tomorrows appearance concerns setting a date for his preliminary hearing for his latest run-in with police.
The 42-year-old son of a former Culver City mayor was arrested, along with a companion, 8 days ago in El Segundo. The pair were charged with felonies involving the theft of coin dispenser from a water machine in front of the Ralphs market in the 500 block of Sepulveda Boulevard in El Segundo. Both are incarcerated in the Mens Central Jail. Mr. Vera Jr.s bail is $75,000. There is no bail for Dana Frank Goller.
Is the Vera Myth Merely Myth?
Ambling at a slowing down pace toward his mid-70s, an age when he might have expected to be a gentleman of leisure, Albert Vera Sr. seems to move ponderously these days.
Appearances, however, are not the soul of accuracy, an insightful person once said.
Solid Gold Mind
If he no longer has the sleek, gazelle swiftness of his younger days, his mind remains cutting-edge sharp.
More importantly, perhaps, feared.
Myth, say many acquaintances, never for attribution, is the essence of Albert Vera Sr.
Probably 75 percent of Culver City has heard one or another colorful version of his treasury of immigrant stories, dating to his arrival from Italy as a 15-year-old.
Personality: Impressive and Opaque
He owns a glistening personality that is equal parts boyishly graceful, bombastically boastful and inerrantly charming.
When they are blended together, say several persons who know him well, he could seduce a Coliseum full of people.
Almost as a throwaway line, these same persons say that follow-through, is Mr. Veras most vulnerable area.
Losing to Heidi
In a recent development, thefrontpageonline.com has learned that Mr. Vera lost a defamation lawsuit that was filed against him and the city nearly 2 years ago by Heidi Keyantash, a Culver City police officer.
As the victor in the case, Ms. Keyantash is expected to receive a settlement reported to be in the high six figures along with other considerations. Sources said that Mr. Vera, vice mayor when the charged act took place, will pay almost all of the award. The city of Culver City was deemed liable for only the small balance.
Whos Talking?
Not surprisingly in this bitterly contested case, no principal could be found who would speak for the record.
One might say, then, that going into the latest case against his son, the father already has a record of 0-and-1.
