CUDAHY (CBS) — KCAL9′s investigative reporter David Goldstein dug into the records of the company whose tanker truck exploded Wednesday on the Pomona (60) Freeway.

According to federal safety records obtained by KCAL9, the 2006 Cool Transports truck that burst into flames was written up for violations twice in the past two years, the most recent in April of this year.

Both times the violation was listed as “Inspection/repair and maintenance parts and accessories.” There was no further explanation.

KCAL9’s David Goldstein knocked on the door of the Cool Transports dispatch center in Cudahy. “Can we just talk to you guys about the accident,” asked Goldstein. No one answered.

The owner of Cool Transports declined to be interviewed, but told Goldstein over the phone that the company has a good safety record.

Sources say investigators from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration have asked for inspection records, which is routine.

CHP investigators are looking into whether the brakes may have overheated.

According to the federal inspections, the entire fleet of Cool Transports trucks has had two accidents in the past two years, but four brake problems this year alone. None were listed as serious, and overall their inspection record is better than the national average.

On the lot, the company’s drivers weren’t talking. But Amdy Vandemeer, who drives a tanker filled with gasoline for another company says it’s always a danger.

“Honestly, I say a prayer before I take off,” says Vandemeer. “I won’t turn my radio on until I’ve prayed.”

CHP investigators say it could be days or weeks before they determine the exact cause of the accident. Depending on which way it goes, the company could be liable for millions of dollars in damages.

WOODLAND HILLS (CBS) — A six-month CBS2 News investigation into odometer fraud uncovered cars that may have had their miles turned back before ending up at some of the biggest car dealerships in Los Angeles.

One man could be responsible for people paying hundreds or thousands more than they should have for used cars. And we are talking about a lot of cars.

“How big do you think this is,” I asked Vito Scattaglia of the DMV?

“Very easily hundreds of vehicles, based upon what you captured on film… Conceivably in the thousands.” Scattaglia said.

With hidden cameras we watched Shamai Salpeter for six months outside his Woodland Hills home.

He was using a device that could illegally lower the mileage on a car, potentially increasing the value for the owner, like one man who we saw at the house. We will not reveal his identity, because he hasn’t been charged with a crime.

“Did you have the odometer rolled back on the white Suburban,” I asked?

“No,” the man replied.

Lower miles would also raise the resale value of a used car and deceive buyers into thinking it’s in better condition.

Some of the cars may have unknowingly ended up in the hands of dealerships all across L.A., including one of the Southland’s largest — Galpin Ford.

Here’s what they have to say.

“I think this guy is a bad person. He’s insidious. He’s evil,” said Alan Skobin.

Officials call it rolling back the odometer. They say it’s almost unheard of since mechanical odometers were replaced by digital readouts, which were supposed to be foolproof.

But not so for Salpeter.

“No problem, whenever you’re ready I can take care of it no problem,” he said as our undercover producer brought a truck to his house. There was no doubt what he was going to do.

“You’re going to help me out with the mileage, right,” our producer asked?

“Whatever you need, that’s what I will put. Whenever you decide, I’m charging $200 for those,” Salpeter said.

“How much can you roll it back,” our producer asked.

“Any amount that you need,” he replied.

But Salpeter was quick to point out he called it something else.

“If somebody tell me, ‘listen, I have to roll it back,’ I’m not rolling back, I’m fixing… Because legally I have to protect myself,” Salpeter said as our hidden camera rolled.

Salpeter then cautioned our producer not to “fix it” too far back, because if there are records of the odometer reading he could get into trouble.

“When you do smog check they are writing the odometer, you cannot be less than that. You understand? If you are less than that you have a problem,” Salpeter said.

We were not the only ones who wanted a fix. During our six-month investigation we saw Salpeter working on an endless stream of cars and collecting cash money.

We saw luxury vehicles like Mercedes, BMWs, Jaguars, Porsches and other cars like Fords, Jeeps and Toyotas.

Sometimes we would see him take apart the dashboard. Other days he would just attach a handheld device under the dash. It would be connected for just about ten or fifteen minutes and he was done.

“He is bringing up the settings for going in to modifying the mileage,” auto theft expert Mike Bender after we showed him the video.

“This is a larger problem than anyone realizes. They don’t think they’re hurting anyone and it’s affecting people all the way down the line. Every time a car sells, all the mechanical problems, and it’s a huge financial impact on people,” Bender added.

Some of the cars we saw were leased, which typically carry a big penalty if someone goes over the allotted mileage.

Others were owned outright, like one Mercedes we saw.

The driver showed up at Salpeter’s house in December. Salpeter worked on the dash like the other cars and the man drove home all the way to Compton.

A month later he denied doing anything wrong.

“Did you have the odometer rolled back on your Mercedes,” I asked him?

“No, I did not,” he said.

“He worked on your car,” I questioned?

“He’s just a friend of mine,” he replied.

He did not want to talk and quickly drove away with his trunk still open.

A white Suburban showed up on September 19. Behind some trees Salpeter hooked up the device to the dash. A few minutes later he was done and the owner of the car drove away.

Later that day he traded the Suburban in at Mercedes of Calabasas.

DMV records showed he attested to the miles. The dealership and the new owner did not know they may have been altered.
We caught up to the old owner driving his Mercedes and he also denied it.

“What was he doing to your car,” I asked him?

“He was actually checking it because I had something wrong with my fuel injectors,” he responded.

Midway through our investigation DMV investigators got a call from executives at Galpin Ford. They got a tip a salesperson may have some connection with Salpeter on cars that were traded in. They are still investigating.

“Are you fearful that you may have sold a used car with the odometer rolled back?

“We know of one situation, quite candidly. I think it resulted from your work, where someone traded in a Mazda,” Skobin said.

We videotaped the Mazda back in August at Salpeter’s home. It was traded in to Galpin a few days later — taken in by that same salesperson.

Galpin is also looking into two other cars that the salesperson took as a trade in.

Galpin cooperated with DMV and provided two cars for undercover officers to attempt to get the miles rolled back.

One of them was a Honda that had 63,863 miles when it went in.

After Salpeter took the dashboard apart — and the investigators paid him $150 — it came back with 32,614. That’s more than 31,000 miles rolled back!

If it was sold, no one would ever have known.

A few weeks later Salpeter was arrested.

“We had one of our undercover producers here and you offered to roll back the odometer for $200,” I said to Salpeter.

“No, I never, I never. I fix them. I fix the odometer,” he replied.

It seems the fixing is good business. Police found $3,500 in cash in his pocket, six computers and the handheld device in his garage.

How many consumers have bought cars with miles rolled back?

We willl never know the answer to that question, as police believe that every one of the cars that showed up at the house could soon end up at a used car dealer near you.

FOR MORE INFORMATION:

» National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
» CARFAX
» AutoCheck
» National Motor Vehicle Title Information System
» instaVIN

LOS ANGELES (CBS) — With the city going broke you may be surprised to find out that Los Angeles is the proud owner of a million dollar yacht and it is about to undergo hundreds of thousands of dollars in renovations at taxpayer expense.

As the head of the Port of Los Angeles raced down the hall, they tried to block our camera and dodged our questions, not wanting to talk about a yacht owned by the port, which is a city agency.

But the mayor said that it is not what we think.

“It’s not a yacht. It’s a boat,” Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa said.

But whatever you call it, the Angelena II is 73 feet long and worth about a million bucks — according to a boat broker we contacted — and it is all your money.

The port bought it in 1988. It is used for public relations tours of the harbor, which run about two hours long. They are free of charge for just about any group, like one we observed for students of Banning High.

We obtained the ship’s logs for the past two years, which show cruises with as many as 48 passengers at a time. We also obtained the names of thousands of people who have been on-board.

More than 4,000 took the cruise just last year. Some of the people do business with the port, but many have nothing to do with it.

We found members of the Morongo Indian Tribe, screenwriters from Universal Studios, a YWCA cruise, people from the exclusive Jonathan Club, UCLA students and dozens of the mayor’s interns.

But he said it is all business.

“They’ve gone to see why the port is such an important part of this administration’s priorities. We have got to promote trade. That’s why I was in China, Japan and Korea,” Mayor Villaraigosa said.

“It’s not a perk to get them out on the water,” I asked?

“No. No,” he replied.

Rusty Millar can “almost” see the port from his home in Silverlake more than 20 miles away. But he and more than a dozen others from the Silverlake Neighborhood Council took a tour on the Angelena in 2006.

“I think somebody brought a boyfriend with them,” Millar said.

They brought friends and posed for pictures with the life preserver. But Millar said the tour was beneficial.

“I think it’s just a kind of goodwill kind of thing. I don’t see a problem with that,” he said.

But it is costing the port money — $147,000 combined last year for two captains primarily assigned to the Angelina; $106,000 for two deck hands; and more than $32,000 for fuel and maintenance.

The Angelena is now in drydock at the Port of L.A. and has not been out on the high seas since September. But over the next couple of months they will be spending close to three quarters of a million dollars on upgrades.

The engines have been removed because they no longer meet California emissions standards. They will be replaced by low-emission hybrid motors.

The port is using $489,000 in federal taxpayer stimulus money that is supposed to go create jobs, plus another $200,000 coming from the port — totaling $689,000 for new engines.

“It’s not helping to create any real jobs,” said Tom Schatz with Citizens Against Government Waste (CAGW).

He said the Angelena should be sold, not refurbished with taxpayer money.

“It’s a big waste of money both for taxpayers across the country and for Los Angeles residents, who clearly aren’t all going to benefit from this and are spending money at a time when the city is more than $70 million in the red,” Schatz said.

But the port said it is worth it.

“The best way to show people the port is from the water,” said John Holmes of the Port of L.A.

The expenditures are coming even when port General Manager Geraldine Knatz testified before the City Council that she is watching spending.

Councilmembers called her in because they were following up on our investigation last year, which revealed the port threw a $200,000 party in Korea.

Knatz claimed that she learned her lesson.

“I have recognized that public perception is an important part of what we do every day and that we really have to tighten our belt and watch every dollar,” she said.

Perhaps she forgot about the $689,000 in new engines. But she did not want to talk about it.

“Why won’t you talk with me for one second. You talk about public perception being important, yet you’re spending close to three quarters of a million dollars on the port’s yacht. Is that good for public perception,” I asked?

She did not have an answer.

But just last week the port received the final go ahead from the Coast Guard for the new engines and they say the Angelena will be back on the high seas in about 90 days to continue the public relations tours at taxpayer expense.

» RELATED STORY:Port Of LA Spends Nearly $200K On Party

LOS ANGELES (CBS) — Congressman Darrell Issa from Washington questions why the port of Los Angeles owns a 73-foot yacht called the Angelena, and why they’re using taxpayer money to refurbish it.

“I do sometimes question why they need a VIP yacht at all,” says Issa.

KCAL9‘s Investigative Reporter Davd Goldstein discovered the port using $489,000 in federal taxpayer stimulus money to outfit the Angelena with two hybrid engines.

“This is the American people’s money that was borrowed in stimulus,” says Issa. “It was supposed to create net new jobs. Could that half a million dollars have been used better? Was this really just show without substance? And we think the Port Authority has a lot to answer for.”

Port general manager Geraldine Knatz raced down the hall and avoided Goldstein’s questions about the yacht. But she can’t dodge congress.

Representative Issa shot off a letter to Knatz after our investigation. As chairman of the committee on government oversight and reform, Issa wants to know why the stimulus money was used.

“This appears to have no net new jobs,” says Issa. “And obviously half a million dollars gone.”

The Angelena is worth about a million dollars according to a boat broker KCAL9 contacted.

Goldstein obtained the ship’s logs and found it’s used mainly for VIP tours of the harbor.  Much of the time for groups that have nothing to do with the port — like the mayor’s interns who have taken two trips in the past two years.

Mayor Villaraigosa says he believes the money was used correctly, but could not say if jobs were created.

When pressed as to whether jobs were created to install the two new engines, Villaraigosa directed Goldstein elsewhere.

“To give you a specific answer to that question, that’s a question you’ve got to ask the port authority,” says Villaraigosa.

We asked the port spokesperson that question but he did not respond directly, only saying they look forward to presenting all of the information that the committee has requested, and they will cooperate.

RELATED:
Taxpayer Money Used To Maintain Million-Dollar Yacht

SOUTH REDONDO BEACH (CBS) — A group of SoCal mothers believe electricity is making their families sick. CBS2’s Paul Magers spoke with these residents to find out why they think nearby power lines and their neighborhood substation is creating unsafe living conditions.

“This is my hair loss from one shower,” said Lori Barber, a resident in the Knob Hill neighborhood, as she held up a large clump of hair.

(credit: CBS)

“I absolutely worry about health issues, I have three young children,” remarked Doris Donlou-Richmond, Barber’s neighbor.

Mary Contreras is yet another local mother who said her daughter has been experiencing a variety of gastrointestinal problems and that half of her esophagus is paralyzed — all for unexplained reasons.

These women live in a neighborhood lined with schools and churches and a Southern California Edison substation, which sends out electricity to the city of Redondo Beach.

The substation is immediately apparent when first entering South Redondo Beach. Many residents said they did not even realize the substation was there until after they purchased their homes. The first five homes to be built on the Barber family’s street were used to house the Edison employees that worked at the facility. Edison had initially planned to tear them down and expand the substation. Instead, the company sold the homes in the ‘90s.

The Barbers bought one of those residences in April 2010 and their baby Adelaide was born in November of that same year. Three months later, the Barbers said their daughter was diagnosed with unexplainable gastrointestinal issues.

“I can’t help but believe it’s related to living here,” Barber said. “I have a 14-month-old baby girl that was just in the hospital last month with issues that we still don’t 100 percent have answers for or that just don’t make sense.”
Contreras lives around the corner, directly behind the substation, and also became concerned when her son and daughter became ill and she began to suffer headaches daily.

“My son, he was diagnosed with a tumor and with a lot of joint problems,” Contreras said.

(credit: CBS)

These residents believe electromagnetic fields (EMFs) generated by the Edison power lines are the root of all their health problems, despite there being no definitive proof.

Barber’s husband, Tom, showed us the power lines surrounding his home.

“We have a situation that we have electricity from high from both sides, high from over there and underground from in front of the house,” he said. “You’re in your own boxed-in microwave.”

The residents have already asked for Southern California Edison employees to measure the EMFs in all of their homes. Edison notes on its paperwork that one milligauss is the average reading in most houses. The company reported that this community had readings that ranged between 4.1 and 32.6.

Edison said EMF readings vary based on what is inside a home and that not all readings relate to power lines.

Doris Donlou-Richmond has EMFs ranging from 5.4 to 13.9 on her property and an electrically-charged gas line. The gas company marked her meter “11 Volts” – alerting employees to stay clear.

“It’s been three and a half years, they haven’t resolved the issue, and there’s no notation on my account other than they are not allowed to touch my gas line due to it being electrically charged,” Richmond said.

Another neighbor purchased the Edison home closest to the substation. Simona Wilson believes something called “stray voltage” has been seeping into her shower and has jolted her body, causing nerve damage.

“When we learned about Simona’s situation, we kind of thought it was interesting, and we started reaching out to people,” Barber said.

Wilson vacated her home last September and has filed a lawsuit claiming that Edison was aware of the stray voltage for the past 20 years. She recently underwent a hysterectomy, a medical issue she also believes is linked to the Edison substation.

“I just feel horrible that we’re sitting here together while one of our neighbors is having surgery,” said Barber, adding, “Obviously, we’re not the only people on this block that have an issue and if you didn’t raise hell about it [SoCal Edison wouldn’t] come to your house.”
CBS2 took these residents’ concerns straight to Edison.
“Certainly, I don’t dismiss customers’ frustration but to sort of characterize that we have not been engaged in trying to solve issues, you know, it’s unfortunate,” said Steve Conroy, of SoCal Edison.

“The first complaint that we actually received was around 2004, and it had to do with an issue of stray voltage,” Conroy said.

(credit: CBS)

Edison later corrected that comment in an email, stating they made disclosures about EMF readings and were aware of stray voltage issues as early as 1999 — years before some of the women involved moved into the neighborhood.

Conroy went on to cite scientific studies to suggest that there was no direct correlation between EMF levels and health concerns.

“There’s no evidence to say EMF is safe,” according to Dr. De-Kun Li, Ph.D., of the Kaiser Foundation Research Institute. He has studied electromagnetic fields and possible health effects for 15 years.

Li said no one is certain which EMF levels are safe and which are dangerous. However, his research recently linked EMF exposure to miscarriages and asthma. He says even though there is no federal standard on EMFs, people need to take precautions.

“My study shows above two milligauss could be potentially problematic, particularly when exposed for a long time,” Li said.

That limit is way below the EMF readings in the South Redondo Beach neighborhood. That’s why Barber said she and her family moved out last November.

“I’m leaving,” Contreras said. “I can’t stand to put my children, and my husband and myself at risk.”

“If Edison is not willing to buy back our house or give us back what we’ve put into it, we’ve potentially lost it,” Lori Barber said.

And, for many families in the area, there are still too many questions left unanswered.

“I want to know why I have electricity in my gas line and I want it fixed,” Richmond said.

“There are substations in neighborhoods that don’t have EMFs or stray voltage – so, why does this one?” Barber asked.

Some residents said they were concerned about the possible effect of the electricity on nearby schools.

Alta Vista Elementary School sent a note home to parents after CBS2 reported on the situation earlier this week, saying both Southern California Edison and the gas company have checked the school and believe there’s no threat.

Edison representatives said they will work with Simona Wilson’s family on the stray voltage issue and said she could even hire the contractor of her choice to fix the problem. Edison also said they were working with the gas company to determine if there was any stray voltage on the gas line.

This is a reposting of a story that aired last year.

By Randy Paige

May 11, 2011

DOWNEY (CBS) — Parents at Warren High School in Downey were shocked by what we discovered about a two-story concrete classroom building that does not meet today’s earthquake-related building codes.

But it was just one of thousands of school buildings that state experts said could be putting children at risk in the next big earthquake, including schools from Laguna Beach to Ventura; San Bernardino to Glendora; and many communities in between.

The wakeup call came on the evening of March 10, 1933, in Long Beach when 230 school buildings were either destroyed or severely damaged in a 6.3-magnitude quake.

Just one month later strict regulations were passed making public schools some of the safest buildings in the state. But there is a loophole and the experts told us it is a big one. State law only requires school buildings to meet the building codes that were in existence at the time the buildings were constructed.

So when the math building at Warren High School was built in January of 1955, it was perfectly acceptable to use non-ductile concrete. Sixteen years later, when another non-ductile concrete building, Olive View Hospital, collapsed in the Sylmar Earthquake, this type of concrete was banned in all new buildings.

But the public schools cast in concrete before the ban have been allowed to stand to this day.

“Non ductile means it doesn’t like to bend,” said geologist and architect Gary McGavin.

He has designed more than a billion-dollars worth of school buildings in California and is a commissioner on the seismic safety commission.

“The non-ductile reinforced concrete tried to remain rigid, tried to hold on, but at some point it can’t hold on anymore and it releases all its energy explosively,” McGavin explained.

Responding to the concern about old school buildings, the state put together a list of all existing structures that carry the risk of collapse in an earthquake.

More than 7,500 buildings were identified, including the gym at Laguna Beach High School and many of the classrooms at Sunnyside Elementary School in Garden Grove. According to state records, those buildings are made of stiff concrete walls attached to flexible roofs, another type of construction at risk of collapse in an earthquake.

At Glendora High School nearly all of the classrooms are made from non-ductile concrete. Same story at Hillview Middle School in East Whittier.

You might assume that seismic upgrades have been made to those buildings, but…

“There have been no seismic upgrades,” said Lee Bean who heads operations for the East Whittier Unified School District.

“I don’t have concerns. All of our buildings have been through three major earthquakes and have shown no structural damage, so therefore we’re pretty confident they will withstand anything that’s comparable to what we’ve already seen,” Bean said.

“That’s kind of like, ‘I’ve never been in a bad car accident, so I shouldn’t wear my safety belt.’ [It] makes no sense. You should be prepared,” McGavin said.

But there is some progress. L.A. Unified said that all remaining non-ductile concrete buildings will be retrofitted or removed within the next few years. The district has a full-time structural engineer on staff, who is inspecting all of the older buildings.

But the buildings we looked at have not been looked at because of a money problem.

“We haven’t done it because they didn’t attach any money to that bill to enable us to do that.”

He explained that there was no point in having a structural engineer come to take a look at a building if there is no money to fix it.

But McGavin said that retrofits can be inexpensive.

“Sometimes they can be fixed as simply as putting a carbon fiber rap around the columns and the beams,” he said.

Parents at Warren High in Downey questioned money allocation.

“They spend almost 2-point-something million on the new track and field, why couldn’t they put some of that money into the buildings,” asked Tim Sullivan, whose daughter, Kaitlin, is a senior.

“It’s scary because earthquakes are probably one of the things I’m most scared of. I never contemplated that the building would fall,” Kaitlin said.

Does it make sense for us to continue to send kids into public schools that were built decades ago and have not been retrofitted, I asked?

“If you’re going to school every single day, five days a week, you probably ought to be reasonably safe from partial collapse.”

We’re not there yet, but…

“No, we know how to get there.”

The lessons were learned forty years ago. The question today is, are they worth the price?

» Download A Spreadsheet To See How Your School Compares

Green: Building types expected to perform well in future earthquakes
Red: Building types requiring detailed seismic evaluation
Orange: Mix of both building types above
Blue: Undetermined

LOS ANGELES (CBS) — A CBS2 News hidden-camera investigation uncovered people selling food stamps, cashing in your taxpayer money.

With hidden cameras, we uncovered a black market of people offering to sell their food stamp benefits for cash, which is against the law.

With the cash they could buy whatever they want — perhaps alcohol, cigarettes or even drugs — things you can’t buy with food stamps, all coming from your money.

Nationwide 46 million Americans are now collecting $75 billion in food-stamp benefits.

In California it is called CalFresh and more than one million people in L.A. County are signed up.

The benefits range from $200 to $1,500 a month and the money comes through Electronic Benefit Transfer Cards (EBTs), which work like debit cards.

EBTs are not supposed to be shared. But we went on Craigslist and found no shortage of people offering to cash in on their food stamps, giving buyers bargains to seal the deal.

We saw ads for people selling $131 worth for $61; $70 for $50; and $200 for $150.

We answered one for someone offering to sell $200 in food stamps for $125.

Our undercover producer met with Matthew, who said he had just enlisted in the Navy, outside of a supermarket in Riverside. There he had more to sell, offering not only his EBT card, but someone else’s.

“This one is my friend Steven’s. I have his PIN number,” he said, adding, “This one is mine. I have my pin number.”

“OK, so he has $200 and he has definitely got it on his account,” our undercover producer asked?

“Yeah, I just called. It’s $200 on his card. I’ve got $110,” Matthew replied.

He wanted to deal.

“I have $310 right here,” Matthew said to our producer.

“Three ten?”

“Want to do it for $200,” he offered.

“Yeah, $200 would be great,” our producer replied.

He said he would go shopping with our undercover producer. She could pick what she wanted and he would pay with his EBT cards — the supermarket would never know.

We did not go through with it, but tried to talk with Mathew.

“You’re taking taxpayer money and you’re selling food stamps, right,” I asked?

“I don’t want to talk about it. I don’t want to talk about it,” was his response.

He went back inside the store, then tried to avoid our camera by coming out without his shirt on, using it to block our view.

“You’re in the Navy and you’re ripping off taxpayers?”

He was not the only one; we answered another ad.

“I’ve done it with friends. It’s no big deal,” said a man in Redondo Beach, who told us that he had done it before.

“You’re selling food stamps. It’s illegal,” I said.

“I wasn’t selling food stamps,” he replied, denying it at first.

Then he admitted that he knew a lot of people doing it.

“It’s pretty easy, right,” I asked?

“I guess so,” he said.

A woman also responded to an ad on Craigslist and told our producer that everything was on the up and up.

“Is it OK to do this? Is it legal,” our producer asked?

“Yeah, as far as I know. Friends and I have done it for each other,” she said.

But it is not.

Liz claimed that she did not know.

“No I didn’t. Honest to God, no one ever told me that,” she said.

But people like Latoya Pierce, a single mother who collects food stamps, thinks that it hurts everyone.

“It makes me very upset because first of all I’m struggling with my daughter and for people to get money and use it for something else is very wrong,” Pierce said.

In L.A. County the Department of Social Services administers benefits and investigates food stamp fraud.

They have about 160 investigators, but, believe it or not, they have only arrested about a dozen people in the past year.

We showed our undercover video to Lupe Luque, who is in charge of fraud.

“We answered the ad on Craigslist and met them at the supermarket. Why can’t your people do this,” I asked him?

“We are,” he replied.

“But you only had a dozen arrests in the past year. It doesn’t sound like you’re doing a lot about it,” I said.

“Not a lot, but we are doing it,” Luque responded.

But right now they are still out there.

What we uncovered may show the hidden underground of trading benefits for cash is more widespread and that taxpayers are footing the bill.

USDA Response To Our Investigation:

“USDA has a zero tolerance policy for fraud in the SNAP program and works with states to crack down on abusers who violate the program and misuse taxpayer dollars. In FY 2010, nearly 800,000 investigations were completed to combat fraud and reduce trafficking. These incidents will not be tolerated and the county should use their full authority under the law to make sure that fraud is punished and that bad actors are held accountable.”

-Kevin Concannon, USDA Under Secretary for Food, Nutrition and Consumer Services

If you want to report food stamp fraud, visit www.fns.usda.gov/fightingsnapfraud.

LOS ANGELES (CBS) — U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers at Los Angeles International Airport have quite a bit more to deal with than guns and drugs; Agents are going after smuggled food that could bring disease into the country.

CBS2 Investigative Reporter David Goldstein looked into how they sniff out the contraband.

“These are actual deer horns,” said Customs Officer Robert Ceniceros.

Another agent finds a bird’s nest in someone else’s luggage.

This is just part of what is being seized from passengers in the hidden underground at LAX.

“This is a serious problem. It’s a threat to the agriculture here in The United States, especially for California,” Ceniceros said.

LAX is the second busiest airport in the country for international travel behind John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York.

(credit: CBS)

Millions of pieces of luggage travel through LAX and it is up to the U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers to find items that could contain disease – in something as innocent as a piece of fruit.

“What I see here – it looks like live plant fungus,” Ceniceros said while looking at a kiwi.

Many of the items are brought in innocently by passengers who don’t know what they can or can’t bring into the country. Others are cleverly concealed, like this package that looks mushrooms but is really meat. The meat could come from a country with swine flu or mad cow disease, which might endanger our stock.

Many of the items, like some deer antlers that are found cut up, are delicacies in some parts of Asia, but banned in this country.

A beagle named “Tyco” is one of the many dogs that help the customs officers sniff out potential dangers inside luggage at the Bradley International Terminal.

One customs officer showed Goldstein a large stash of things seized in just two days at LAX, each one innocently brought in by passengers, but these items could potentially cause serious harm in the U.S.

WESTMINSTER (CBS) — Two women were charged Wednesday in connection with a massive real estate scheme in Orange County and one of those women had previously been featured in a CBS2 News investigation.

Three years ago we found Lynn Eichenberger promising foreclosure help and real estate riches and leaving a long line of victims.

“This is the solution that is going to save your home,” Eichenberger was caught saying on our hidden camera.

She had been conducting a mortgage foreclosure seminar, claiming that for a price, she could help people freeze their mortgages.

“If you have a $300,000 mortgage, guess what, it freezes,” she said as our camera recorded.

Wednesday the Orange County District Attorney arrested her on charges of a $2 million fraud scheme.

“Behind every crime, there are real people. Many of these people have lost their life savings, their hopes and their dreams,” Orange County D.A. Tony Rackauckas said.

Eichenberger, 42, and Loan Thituong Nguyen, 43, were charged with defrauding investors in Westminster.

We profiled Eichenberger in 2009 for allegedly defrauding people in a real estate development called Emerald Bay, when she claimed that she was the CEO.

“I think she’s a predator and she has been preying on people’s savings accounts,” Len Armijo said.

We spoke with Armijo and three others who said they invested hundreds of thousands of dollars with Eichenberger and got nothing.

One man said Eichenberger went by the name “Kc” when she was at Valley Credit Express and that she promised to help him out of foreclosure.

We tracked her down at the time, but she did not want to talk.

Now if convicted, she faces up to 20 years in prison.

» RELATED STORY: Prosecutors: Women Preyed On OC Vietnamese Community In $2M Scam

LOS ANGELES (CBS) — Many Angelenos find themselves facing unexpectedly hefty hospital bills after going in for a test or procedure. One senator hopes his new legislation will help curb the sticker shock.

Russell, who asked that only his first name be used, recently required a two night stay in a local hospital to be treated for an infection. He was shocked by the $9,500 bill submitted to Medicare.

“It’s devastating,” says Russell. “It’s incomprehensible.”

KNX 1070′s Charles Feldman reports Russell received a secondary statement letting him know that had he not used Medicare, the stay would have cost him $42,000.

Russell did not have a surgery or require any specialized care.

The law requires hospitals to give an estimate of their charges when asked. But those estimates do not include the cost of doctors or other experts who contract with the hospitals.

Jesse Daltos is a Hollywood stuntman who recently suffered burns to his hands which required a relatively brief visit to a local hospital.

Daltos, 36, said he was given gauze and an antibiotic ointment — along with a bill for $1,600.

“It was absurd,” said Daltos, who does not have health insurance. “I’ve never spent that much money on gauze, I could’ve had gauze for years.”

Democratic State Senator Ted Lieu says he plans to introduce a bill this month that places the burden on hospitals to disclose all potential charges associated with a procedure or stay.

Lieu says the issue was brought to his attention by KNX 1070 NEWSRADIO.

“After I listened to it, we did some research up here in Sacramento,” says Lieu. “It turns out that number one, it is a problem. And number two, people are getting hit with hugely, grossly phenomenal medical bills for which they have no control over the cost.”

Jan Emerson-Shea of the California Hospital Association, a lobbying group, said California is one of only five states where most hospitals cannot hire their own doctors, contributing to billing confusion.

“Most patients have the belief that physicians are employees of the hospital,” says Emerson-Shea. “And so the cost estimates that the hospital can provide include those of all the various physicians who may treat them, and that is not accurate.”

Lieu’s legislation is likely to fight an uphill battle from state hospitals.

(credit: CBS)

LOS ANGELES (CBS) —Water rates may have gone up 70 percent in the past six years but, but our undercover investigation found water executives spending money like water.

Our hidden cameras captured three directors of the Metropolitan Water District drinking wine and toasting, just days after your water rates went up for the 6th year in a row.

They were staying at a Downtown L.A. hotel and eating meals, charging some of it to the ratepayers — using your money.

James Blake, who represents Fullerton, was one of them.

Receipts that we obtained showed that Blake stays at the Downtown Marriott just about every month during the board’s two-day meetings — instead of driving home.

The water district allows it.

We found charges for rooms and also for the hotel lounge.

Blake claimed that the bottle of wine we videotaped him bringing to the table was from his personal wine cellar.

But he defended charging ratepayers for the hotel and meals, claiming his 27-mile commute Fullerton would be too much.

“How many hundreds of thousands of people in Los Angeles make that same drive and they don’t have the luxury of staying at a hotel,” I asked him?

“I’m not concerned with them,” Blake said.

“You’re not concerned with them? But they’re the ones who are paying the extra money now. You just raised rates,” I responded.

We found receipts for other directors, who also stay at downtown hotels, including board chairman John Foley. Our hidden camera also captured him during the toast.

Earlier that day we videotaped him checking into the Downtown Marriott at ratepayer expense, instead of driving home to Laguna Nigel. He was greeted by the bartender at the hotel lounge.

“Hi sir, how are you? Want to have a glass of wine,” she asked him.

Foley nodded yes. Later we saw him drinking and a hotel receipt we obtained shows a lounge charge.

But at the next board meeting, his handlers ushered him away when we tried to talk with him.

The Metropolitan Water District is a government agency that is the wholesale supplier for 26 cities and districts in Southern California, including the City of L.A.

Rates have gone up nearly 70 percent in the last six years and they are looking into the possibility of raising them again next year. So we wanted to find out how the district is spending its money.

We obtained credit card statements and expense reports for dozens of executive employees and found them spending money like water.
We found more than a million dollars in charges over a 20-month period for conventions, meetings and trips all across the country.

From January 2010 through August 2011, it broke down to more than $828,154 in airfare, $193,045 in hotels, and $56,474 in meals.

We found lavish charges like a $599-a-night hotel room in Washington DC; dinners including expensive NY strip steak, rack of lamb and Maine lobster; car service charges; and even a helicopter rental.

We also found other perks, such as $16 hotel in-room movies and minibar charges for everything from M&M’s to bottled water.

Yes, bottled water. I asked the water district’s general manager if he found that ironic.

“I’m not aware of those. I would have to look into it,” Metropolitan Water District General Manager Jeff Kightlinger responded.

Kightlinger, who personally made more than $300,000 last year, said there was nothing wrong with it.

I asked him what he would say to ratepayers when they look at all the expenses, meals, hotels and airfare, when rates have gone up so much and may go up again.

“It’s a necessary cost of doing business,” he said.

Kightlinger said the rate hikes are necessary to repair an aging infrastructure, adding that he has cut expenses over the years.

But we found receipts for him, including a $680 dinner for six at Donovan’s Steak House in San Diego, $172 dinner for two at STK Steak House in Las Vegas and a $1,861 dinner for 20 at the Waterbar in San Francisco — including six bottles of wine at an average cost of $55 each.

Alcohol is not prohibited and ratepayers paid for every drop.

“That was a celebration dinner for passing 2009 legislation, so we authorized a purchase for alcohol for it. That was an exception,” Kightlinger said.

“And you think the average taxpayer, the average homeowner and the average water user can understand that,” I asked?

“You know, we’ve covered this a little bit. Yes,” he replied.

But Kris Vosburgh of the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association said it is wrong.

“Why is a good bottle of wine the necessary cost of doing business? Why does someone have the mentality to associate wine and water,” Jarvis said adding, “This is just nonsense, self-serving nonsense.”

But Kightlinger said the wining and dining are only a small portion of their $1.6 billion budget.

However, it is one that ratepayers may remember the most.

Update:

After our story aired, the Metropolitan Water District produced a receipt which showed a corkage charge for a bottle of wine on the night we videotaped the directors at the hotel. They say this supports Mr. Blake’s position that he brought the wine from his personal wine cellar and did not charge it to the district.

LOS ANGELES (CBS) — Bargain shoppers know that you often can peel away layers of sale stickers to get to the original price of an item – but what if you found the lowest stickered price was actually buried under a bunch of higher prices?

CBS2’s Sandra Mitchell reports on a hidden camera investigation into the popular department store chain Kohl’s. The report found that over and over again items were marked up with stickers covering lower prices underneath before they went on sale.

Kohl’s customer Patty Woody thought she got a deal when she bought Vera Wang sheets that cost $209 for 50 percent off. However, when the shopper brought them home a price tag inside the packaging revealed the sheets were originally $169 – a $40 difference.

“It really surprised me,” Woody said.

So is Kohl’s raising its prices before they place merchandise on sale?

According to a store manager, “The price always fluctuates. It’s always different depending on what sells. I can’t guarantee that it will be $249 tomorrow. It might be more or it might be less depending on what sale’s going on. But, you’ll never pay full price for it.”

The CBS2 investigation examined seven Southern California Kohl’s store locations, from Seal Beach to Monrovia to Westchester, and found questionable price tags at each location.

Several times we found price tags on top were higher prices than the tags below.

A pair of Levis 501’s at a Cypress location were priced at $64 but peeling back the price tag revealed a tag for $58. Peel the tag again and the original price tag read $48.

The jeans were marked up $16 and then placed near a digital sale sign that read “Buy One Get One Half Off”.

(credit: CBS)

After examining the investigation’s hidden camera footage the CEO of a retail consulting firm was surprised by what we found.

“If it’s sloppily done and you can see two price tags then we’re kind of curious. We like to see what’s under the covers, sure,” said CEO Harry Friedman.

Friedman said Kohl’s has every right to raise its prices but, according to federal law, it cannot be in a way that deceives customers.

The Manufacturer’s suggested retail price, or MSRP, is just the beginning, said Igo Reyes of the L.A. County Department of Consumer Affairs – stores cannot raise prices just for a sale.

“If a store simply raises the price just temporarily for a few days so that they can then claim that the item is discounted substantially off the inflated phony price, then that’s very deceptive. And clearly that’s what the legislation intends to prohibit,” Reyes said.

California state law bans companies from making false or misleading statements about the amounts of price reductions.

CBS2 contacted Kohl’s and specifically asked about price changes and special sales. They responded via e-mail:

“…From time-to-time, product prices are increased due to production and raw material cost increases. When these types of price increases are implemented, our stores are instructed to re-ticket all items currently in our inventory…”

Despite what the investigation found throughout their stores, Kohl’s said price increases are not common.

If you feel you’ve been a victim of deceptive sales practices contact the Los Angeles County Department of Consumer Affairs at DCA@dca.lacounty.gov or call (800) 593-8222.

LOS ANGELES (CBS) — A Los Angeles City Commissioner, who resigned in the midst of a child porn investigation, was expected to make his first court appearance Wednesday afternoon.

Al Abrams, 63, faces five counts of distributing child pornography, two counts of receipt of child pornography and one count of possession of child pornography.

CBS2 Investigative Reporter David Goldstein was outside his house Wednesday as authorities took him into custody.

Abrams resigned in early August as president of the seven-member Board of Neighborhood Commissioners, which oversees the neighborhood councils that provide a link between local communities and Los Angeles City Hall.

He had served on the board since 2008, owns a public relations firm and has worked on ballot measures in Agoura Hills, Westlake Village and Walnut Creek.

According to an affidavit obtained exclusively by CBS2, an undercover agent allegedly downloaded pictures from a file sharing website frequented by pedophiles. The account name was “BoyWonderUSA.” Hundreds of pictures containing sexually explicit images of children, some as young as 4 years old engaged in sexual acts.

The account was traced back to Abrams’ home in Tarzana.

After his house was searched, he told CBS2 that a now-excised growth on his spine left him with a split personality that compelled him to do what normally would have been out of character.

Goldstein asked Abrams, “You just found out today that your medical condition triggered you to look at kiddie porn of toddlers as young as four?” Abrams says, “That’s correct.”

Goldstein pressed the point. “Just today? Four days after the FBI raided your house and you’re under investigation. Isn’t that a little suspicious?” Abrams replied, “No, it’s a very natural thing to find out what’s going on.”

Goldstein asked Abrams if he went by the name “BoyWonderUSA.” And he didn’t deny it.

“It is what my split personality decided to do. That’s what happens when you have tumors,” Abrams said.

He asked Abrams if he remembered watching it. Abrams replied, “I was watching myself from a distance, watching it.”

Goldstein wanted to know if Abrams believes he did anything he should serve jail time over. “No, why. I’m not a criminal,” explained Abrams.

If convicted of all counts, Abrams could face up to 150 years in prison.

LOS ANGELES (CBS) — A former L.A. City Commissioner has been arrested and charged with possessing and distributing child pornography.

Last year Albert Abrams told us that a tumor on his spine compelled him to do it.

We were the only reporters there Wednesday when the feds arrested him.

Sources say Abrams and his attorney had been trying to talk their way out of the arrest over the past six months.

Hoping to convince the feds that the thousands of images of child pornography they found on his computer were due to a tumor on his spine — the same thing Abrams told us last year.

But he was arrested Wednesday and he did not want to talk about it.

“Mr. Abrams how’s the tumor? Do you still maintain the tumor made you watch kiddie porn,” I asked as he was being taken away by agents.

But he did not respond.

Abrams was led away by FBI agents after surrendering on charges of possessing and distributing child pornography.

“Do you remember consciously looking at the kiddie porn,” I asked him last August?

“I was watching myself watching it,” he said.

Last August Abrams told me exclusively that a tumor of his spine made him watch kiddie porn — prompting his split personality to go online with the name “Boywonderusa”.

“Did you go by the name of Boywonderusa,” I asked.

“It was what my split personality decided to do. But that’s what happens when you have tumors,” he said.

Abrams was president of the L.A. Board of Neighborhood Commissioners — appointed by the Mayor. He stepped down when we broke the news of the FBI raiding his home last year.

According to the indictment, they found pictures of children, as young as 5-years old. Sources say some of the pictures date back to the late 1990s and that could spell trouble for Abrams’ tumor defense.

“When did you first realize you were watching kiddie porn,” I asked him?

“Beginning in April,” he replied.

He said the tumor was diagnosed a month later, which could make it difficult to explain the pictures dating back more than 10 years.

“Do you think you should pay for this with jail time?

“Oh I don’t think so,” he said.

“Why not?”

“Well I’m not a criminal,” he answered.

But the U.S. Attorney disagrees.

If convicted on all counts Abrams faces up to 150 years in prison.

» RELATED STORY: LA City Commissioner Blames Possession Of Child Porn On His Medical Condition

WOODLAND HILLS (CBS) — After a CBS2 News hidden-camera investigation uncovering odometer fraud led to the arrest of a Woodland Hills man, we caught him at it again.

The last time we saw Shamai Salpeter was earlier this month when he was arrested.

We had caught him on hidden cameras outside his Woodland hills home offering to roll back the odometer of a car.

“You’re going to help me out with the mileage, right,” our undercover producer asked Salpeter?

“Whatever you need, that’s what I will put. Whenever you decide, I’m charging $200 for those,” he said.

“For what? How much can you roll it back,” our producer asked?

“Any amount that you need,” Salpeter replied.

But just weeks after he got out of jail, our hidden cameras caught him again — this time allegedly working with a friend.

“You tell him how much you want, put the money under the mat,” Salpeter said to our undercover producer, who met Salpeter outside a Starbucks near his home.

“Put $200 under the mat and my guy will take it,” Salpeter said.

“OK, OK, I just want to be clear. What is he going to do,” our producer asked?

“What do you need to do,” Salpeter said?

“I need, like, help with the mileage.”

“That’s what he’s doing. Give him the money under the mat and give him the key,” Salpeter said.

We never went through with it. But rolling back the odometer could potentially raise the resale value of a car and deceive buyers into thinking it is in better condition.

Before his arrest, we saw Salpeter work on dozens of cars and investigators believe he could be responsible for lowering the mileage on hundreds of vehicles.

Now it seems he is being a little more cautious, saying his friend would take the car to another location to have the miles rolled back and that he was not doing any work.

“I’m not even allowed to go close to the car,” Salpeter said to our undercover producer.

“Really? Why not?”

“Because I got problems before and I’m not touching any car. If you want to do it, he can do it,” Salpeter replied.

“What kind of problems?”
“Somebody catch me, and I don’t do it anymore,” he said.

But it is clear Salpeter is still brokering deals to roll back odometers.

When we caught up with him, he denied it.

“You were arrested already Mr. Salpeter. Why are you still doing it,” I asked him?

“I don’t touch nothing. I don’t do nothing,” he said.

Salpeter claims that he showed up because he said he knew that person was working with us.

“I tried to set him up. It didn’t work. (Expletive) it, that’s it.

“You tried to set him up,” I asked?

“Yes,” he said.

“For what? You were the one who was offering to do something illegal,” I said.

“No,” he said.

While Salpeter was arrested, he still has not been charged with any crime. DMV investigators are working with the D.A.’s office and are expected to file charges in the next few weeks.

We showed the video to Vito Scattaglia, who is heading up the DMV investigation.

“It appears to be business as usual,” Scattaglia said, adding, “It really is pretty brazen. It’s almost as though he never stopped.”

Scattaglia said it is a complicated case and when it is over there may be numerous people charged. Until then, Salpeter is still out on the streets and despite us exposing him — not once, but twice – he is now become a loyal viewer.

“Listen, I suddenly start to watch your program,” Salpeter said. “I like your job. I don’t take it personally.”

» RELATED STORY: CBS2 Investigation Uncovers Odometer Fraud Possibly Affecting Thousands Of Consumers

LOS ANGELES (CBS) — A former Beverly Hills cosmetic surgeon, who was the focus of a year-long KNX1070 investigation, has been convicted of attempted grand theft by a Van Nuys jury.

Dr. Ehab Mohamed tried to sell medical equipment he did not own to a Connecticut health spa for $20,000 in an effort to raise money, he told the spa, so he could leave the U.S. and set up a practice in France.

The KNX1070 investigation revealed that Mohamed had been practicing in the US since 2006 without a proper work visa. He is an Egyptian national whose visa was revoked that year by the U.S. State Department.

Dr. Mohamed, whose medical license has been suspended by the California medical board,is also being investigated by the LAPD in connection with the death of a female patient who underwent a day long, $100,000 liposuction procedure in his Encino office, KNX 1070′s Charles Feldman reports.

The L.A. County District Attorney’s office is deciding whether to charge Mohamed criminally in connection with the death.

Dr. Mohamed has been in jail since July when he was busted in an LAPD sting operation and also has a federal hold on him for his work visa violation.

RELATED STORIES:

»KNX 1070: Criminal Trial Of Dr. Ehab Mohamed To Begin
»KNX 1070 Report: Medical Board Was Warned About Dr. Ehab Mohamed Years Before Patient Death
»Update: KNX 1070′s Investigative Reporter Continues His Probe Of Dr. Ehab Mohamed

LOS ANGELES (CBS) — The Los Angeles County Coroner no longer believes the death of a woman undergoing a day-long plastic surgery by a former Beverly Hills cosmetic surgeon was the result of an accident, a KNX 1070 investigation has learned.

In an unusual reappraisal of its original accidental findings a year earlier, the coroner’s office changed the manner of death of 61-year-old Sharon Carpenter Nicholson from “accident” to “undetermined,” saying that Dr. Ehab Mohamed “may have knowingly disregarded the safety of the patient.” Mrs. Nicholson died in August 2010.

The amended report says Mohamed performed an all-day liposuction procedure on Nicholson, while still suffering from a self-inflicted wound. The injury had been caused when the doctor performed surgery on himself, one of many such alleged incidents.

The coroner’s report says that physicians, who treated Mohamed over a three-year period prior to Nicholson’s death, had sent letters to the California Medical Board stating that he “posed a risk to patient lives if he continued to practice medicine in his condition.”

Mohamed, an Egyptian national, is currently in federal custody awaiting deportation proceedings.

KNX previously reported that Dr. Mohamed had been in the United States illegally since 2006 when the U.S. State Department revoked his work visa. The federal government says it then lost track of him, even though he had been taking out ads in the Los Angeles Times and other publications advertising his medical services.

The doctor was caught after being busted in an LAPD sting operation that resulted in his recent conviction of attempted grand theft, for which he was sentenced to time served in county jail.

Early on, the LAPD investigator assigned to the case of Nicholson’s death recommended to the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s office that criminal charges ought to be brought against Mohamed in connection with the death.

But more than a year and a half after the death of Nicholson — the official cause of death is listed as Lidocaine, Fentanyl and Oxycodone toxicity — the DA’s office will only say “the case remains under review.”

However, the potential deportation of Mohamed back to his native Egypt, which could occur in a matter of weeks, could put the doctor out of the reach of local law enforcement should they decide to file criminal charges at a later date.

“I have to draw the contrast to, I guess, Michael Jackson,” said David Nicholson, who was the husband of the deceased patient. “He has a problem, extremely similar to my wife’s, and that guy was arrested; he’s already in jail. What’s fair for one is fair for two.”

David Nicholson was referring to the relative speed in which the L.A. District Attorney’s office filed charges against the pop star’s doctor, bringing him to trial and winning a conviction.

By contrast, there has been virtually no contact, KNX has been told, between the DA’s office and the Nicholson family or their attorney, Robert Stone.

In fact, although the coroner issued its blistering supplemental report on Nicholson’s death on November 23, 2011, the family was only made aware of it last week when KNX obtained a copy of the new report and informed them of its findings.

» View Supplemental Autopsy Report

STUDIO CITY (CBS) — A CBS2 investigation has looked into whether the husband of a high-ranking City of Los Angeles general manager was given preferential treatment from the LAPD after his car was impounded.

Tens of thousands of people get their cars impounded by the LAPD every year, and most have to pay a hefty fine to get it back.

But not one man whose wife happens to work for the city and who has LAPD Chief Charlie Beck’s phone number.

When police impounded Maurice Levin’s Ford Explorer for expired tags he got it back without paying a dime after his wife, Randi Levin, the general manager of the city’s IT department, called Beck.

“Did you receive preferential treatment for getting your car out of impound because your wife essentially works for the mayor?” CBS2 investigative reporter David Goldstein asked Levin.

“Umm…I’m not aware of that,” Levin responded.

(credit: CBS)

Officers allegedly saw Levin drive through a red light at Ventura and Coldwater Canyon boulevards in Studio City. When they followed him they found his tags had expired last May and they pulled him over.

According to documents obtained exclusively by CBS2 News the officers wrote Levin “requested a supervisor”. When one arrived the sergeant wrote “Mr. Levin would not respond or look at me” and stayed on his cellphone. She said it appeared he “was intentionally delaying the towing of his vehicle”. But Levin was issued a ticket for going through the red light, no proof of insurance and no tags.

The car was taken to an official police garage, Archer’s Towing, and impounded.

“The car was impounded for no registration or expired registration,” said LAPD Captain Paul Snell, who said his officers did the right thing.

Even so, hours later, Snell reversed it.

“I received a call from someone from the chief’s office. It wasn’t the chief of police, it was a representative from the chief’s office that asked that I look at it, the impound,” Snell said.

Snell said he decided to release the car from Archer’s. Documents CBS2 obtained show the city picked up the $325 towing fee. Snell said he did it because Levin claimed he had paid his registration fee–even though the DMV says the car is not legally registered.

And Snell said his intervention was nothing unusual.

“How many of these decisions have you made this year?” Goldstein said.

“It depends when they come up,” Snell said.

“Give me an idea. Last week how many did you do?” Goldstein said.

Snell said he hadn’t been involved with any similar situations last week but that he helped someone get out of an impound situation the week before.

But it doesn’t end there. According to a field activity report Snell sent an LAPD patrol car to Levin’s house to check on his insurance and give him a ride back to the towing company. Levin wasn’t home.

“Did he receive preferential treatment?” Goldstein asked.

“In what sense?” Snell said.

“In what sense? In the sense that his wife works for the mayor. That’s the sense.” Goldstein said.

“Not in my opinion. No,” Snell said.

But since we first started asking questions police say Levin paid the towing bill.

Chief Beck also says he did nothing wrong.

“Is that what a normal person can do off the streets — call the chief?” Goldstein asked Snell.

“Well, actually, if someone does call the chief and gives the information she gave me that is what I would do. I acted the same way I would for anyone else,” Snell said.

Tell that to Dani Soule. She paid $600 to get her car out of impound.

“It makes me so angry. So upset. Again, I wish I could just make a phone call. I wish I could call Charlie Beck to have him take care of this,” Soule said.

(credit: CBS)

“The message that this sends to people is what? A general manager can call and action is taken? No, the message is that anyone who calls me will get action. Now I will make sure the action is proper,” Beck said.

But the question is — were these actions proper?

Since CBS2 started to ask questions, Chief Beck now says he has launched an investigation to find out.

Randi Levin wouldn’t return calls asking for comment.

LOS ANGELES (CBS) — Have you ever had a computer or phone get stolen and you want nothing more than to track down who took it? We did just that with the help of tracking software.

“It was an iPhone 4S. Brand new, $250 phone, $50 case,” said David Dyer, who had left his iPhone in the back of a taxi.

Less than five minutes later he said he called the cab company, but they said it was gone.

“I think the guy, as soon as he let me out, sees my phone in the backseat and just takes it and pockets it,” Dyer said.

It’s not just taxis — the LAPD reports that cellphone thefts have increased 32 percent in some areas and that thefts of laptops and tablet computers are also on the rise.

Dyer said that he tried to call his phone, but it was already turned off leaving no way to track it down.

“I think it’s long gone. There’s nothing I can do,” Dyer said.

While he never got his phone back, we wanted to see if there was a way to track down stolen cellphones or computers, so we purchased some tablet computers and installed security software.

“How it works is all these smart devices have the ability to track themselves,” said Con Mallon with Symantec.

He said that with anti-theft software, we should not only be able to find it, but also turn on the camera to see who is using it.

So we went to LAX where hundreds of cabs pick up passengers every day. With a hidden camera, our undercover producers hailed a taxi.

When we got out we purposely left the computer in the back seat. Then we called the cab company minutes later to see if we would get it back.

The first three were returned by the drivers after we called.

The fourth cab was one from United Independent Taxi. When we got out we left the computer visible on the backseat; then called their dispatcher.

“I just took one of your cabs from LAX to my hotel here in El Segundo and I can’t seem to find my tablet,” our undercover producer said.

They said they would get a message to the driver.

“If he finds the tablet in the back seat, you’ll give him my number to call me back is that right” our producer confirmed?

Later that day they called back and left this message on our voicemail — “The driver did call back and no tablet was found, OK? Thank you.”

So we turned on the anti-theft software, which works when the computer connects to Wi-Fi.

The next day it traced the tablet to a location in North Hollywood.

We clicked on the sneak peak function, using the camera to take pictures. We captured pictures of what appeared to be a young girl using the computer and then what looked to be a teenage boy.
When we went to the address on the map, we found the same taxi we took at LAX parked a few doors away.

With a hidden camera we watched as the same driver, who picked us up at LAX, came out to his cab along with the same girl and boy that we saw in the pictures.

The software led us right to them.

Later I showed him a similar computer.

“Did you find this in the back of your cab,” I asked?

“No,” he replied.

“You never found one of these,” I pressed?

“No,” he said.

Then I showed him the pictures.

“That’s your child isn’t it,” I asked?

“Yeah,” he said.

“We had a tracking device in the tablet. It came from your house. Your child was on it
Maybe,” I questioned?

He claimed he never found it and said his son may have found it in the cab.

“Every day when I come in, my son cleans my car. I don’t know. They found it, something inside the car, I don’t know,” he said.

He went inside his house and less than two minutes later was able to find our computer, which he claimed he knew nothing about.

“My wife telling me that my son tell her that when they washing the car they found it somewhere in here,” the driver said.

“They found it back there? How did it end up back there? It was on the seat,” I asked?

“I don’t know,” he said.

But we ended up getting our tablet back.

“This alone makes me feel like justice is served,” Dyer said.

Something he could not do, but we did with the help of modern technology tracking it to inside the cab driver’s house.

VAN NUYS (CBS) — A DWP supervisor, allegedly drunk on the job, crashed his company truck into several parked cars in Van Nuys last week.

DWP Supervisor Isaac Chavez was arrested for DUI at the scene.

(credit: Miguel Ospital/UGC/CBS)

He also took a picture of a police officer holding two open bottles vodka, allegedly taken from Chavez’s vehicle, while he was on duty, earning your taxpayer money.

“I don’t know. Yes, it’s very stupid,” Ospital said referring to the bottles of vodka he witnessed.

It happened at about 4 p.m. last Wednesday in a 35 mile-per-hour zone just short of a crosswalk.

The debris remained on the street almost a week later. A camper truck was parked in the same spot where Chavez allegedly hit it before the other cars.

Two of the vehicles belonged to a man, who only wanted us to use his first name, Victor.

His Toyota Sequoia was totaled after Chavez allegedly ran into it, pushing it all the way up the street after the violent crash.

“Boom! Where’s my car? Coming here, all the way over there,” Victor said, gesturing to where his car finally came to a stop.

(credit: Miguel Ospital/UGC/CBS)

We found his city truck on the DWP lot after it was towed from the scene. The front end was visibly smashed in.

No one answered the door at Chavez’s Palmdale home. He was on unpaid administrative leave at the time.

The DWP released this statement saying, “We take these matters very seriously. We are conducting a full investigation into this matter and will take appropriate action when the investigation is complete.”

The incident came exactly two years after we exposed DWP employees drinking and driving in city vehicles, as well as going into strip clubs while on duty.

That time we caught workers drinking beer wrapped in white paper towels.

Now it is police who allegedly caught another DWP employee — this time with two open bottles of vodka and a crash where, luckily, no one was seriously injured.

DWP would not release Chavez’s exact salary, but the job classification runs from about $105,000 to $126,000 a year, plus overtime.