If you’re reading this blog you probably care about Los Angeles. And if you care about Los Angeles you probably know about the Rampart Scandal. And if you know about the Rampart Scandal, you probably know about Community Resources Against Street Hoodlums, better known, of course, in the weirdo heavily-armed-frat-boy culture of the LAPD, as CRASH.
And if you know about all that stuff… well, maybe you still don’t know, because I didn’t, that many CRASH alums have moved on to bigger and better things in the LAPD. For instance, our old friend Peter Zarcone, late of Hollywood Division but now cracking skulls for the man out on 77th Street, was in CRASH. And not only him, but also Deputy Chief Robert “Bobby” Arcos, now running for Chief of the whole damn show, used to run with the CRASHies.
And it’s a legit question, really, how it was that he was a senior lead officer back in the day, and all his subordinates1 were out stealing cocaine and falsifying evidence and beating suspects within an inch of their lives and whatever else it was that they got up to out there in the Rampart Division, and he had no clue that any of this was going on? It kind of sheds a negative light on his leadership ability, does it not?2 Is this the guy we want running the LAPD?
And it’s not even like Bobby Arcos has left the bad old days behind. The inspiration for this post is an email I just received from the LAPD.3 It’s from long-time Zarcone wingman Alex Baez organizing a reunion of CRASH officers to be held in 2015 at the City Club of Los Angeles. Zarcone was invited, and Chief-to-be Arcos was invited as well.
The email is pretty amusing, what with the detailed dress code of the City Club that everyone’s going to have to adhere to, and there’s a transcription after the break as always. But what’s more interesting is why Bobby Arcos thought those bad old days in CRASH were something to get together with friends and drinks and reminisce about. It doesn’t sound much like he’s moved beyond, does it? If I were going to hire him as Chief, I’d want him to come totally clean about what happened back then, what he knew and when he knew it, and so on. And I’d want him to quit going to the damn reunions.
Transcription of the email under discussion
From: 26623@lapd, iacity.org
To: reconmike114@gmail.com, ROBERT ARCOS, CarlosACanino@usdoj.gov, KEVIN WEBB, JOHN SHAFIA, JOEL MILLER, DENNIS O’SULLIVAN, PETER ZARCONE, STEVEN RAUSCH, ORLANDO NIEVES, JAMES THORNTON, MANUEL REDRUELLO, zuuni1@aol.com, RENEE MEDEL, JEFFREY PERKINS, JOHN MCMAHON, JUAN GOMEZ, JULIAN MUNOZ, BURTON STROGATZ, MARKSTORTI, Kerry Knight, LUIS CONTRERAS, Kevin Burke, RODRIGUEZ JORGE, jhoar@mtoclean.com
CC: SALAAM ABDUL-RAHMAN, JORGE VILLEGAS
Subject: Re: RAMPART CRASH/SEG REUNION
Date: 23-Apr-2015 12:53
Hello All here are some tips for parking and attire for the City Club. See you tomorrow!
Parking for City Club Los Angeles is located at 515 S. Flower Street.Hours and Rates
Monday – Friday
After 4:01 p.m. – $8 fiat rate
DRESS CODE: Fashion Etiquette
We’re so pleased you’ve decided to visit City Club Los Angeles. To help acclimate guests to our suggested attire, we offer the following helpful guidelines. Casual Attire Throughout the Club
In general, Members and their guests should refrain from wearing casual attire such as: rubber shoes (i.e. flip flops), t- shirts, torn denim and shorts. Aperture Anytime Lounge – Casual Dining
Dressy jeans and business casual attire are welcome throughout our Club. Jackets and ties are optional for afternoon dining. Arbor Room – Upscale Dining
Ties are optional and jackets are required for daily dinners. Please refrain from wearing denim in the Arbor Room.
Thank you for using your best judgement to make sure you’ll be comfortable. We look forward to your visit.
Also if available there maybe a possible post event at Seven Grand 515 WEST 7TH STREET
2ND FLOOR
DOWNTOWN LA 90014
»> ALEX BAEZ 4/21/2015 8:23 PM >»
Updated confirmation list:
1. Alex Baez
2. Rafaela Peyton +1
3. Kevin Webb+1
4. Manny Redruello
5. Pete Zarcone
6. Jeff Perkins
7. Kevin Burke
8. Joel Miller
9. Kerry Knight
10. Rene Mendel
11. Carlos Canino
12. John McMahon
13. Juan Gomez
14. Burt Strogatz
15. Jorge Rodriguez
16. Bobby Arcos
»> ALEX BAEZ 4/12/2015 11:01 PM »>
Hello all,
Just a reminder regarding the April 24th. Please RSVP if you are attending so I can have an accurate head count (no offense Manny). Please come and help me spend Jorge V’s money.
Thus far we have confirmed:
Kevin Burke
Carlos Cannino
Kerry Night
Rafaela
Rene Medel
Jeff Perkins
Alex Baez
Jorge Rodriguez
Bobby Arcos
Pete Zarcone
Joel Miller
Manny Redruello
Kevin Webb
Alex
»> ALEX BAEZ 3/23/2015 5:14 PM »>
Rampart CRASH/SEG Alumni
I hope everyone is doing well. We have been trying to coordinate a reunion for the unit for some time now. Jorge Villegas has graciously rented a location with wonderful amenities. He is also celebrating his recent promotion. This gives us an opportunity to share some old stories in a great setting with our old partners and friends.
Please all join us on April 24,2015 at 1800 hours; At the City Club 555 S. Flower, 51st Floor, L.A. Please RSVP and please forward this message to our unit members that are no longer with the Department. I apologize in advance if I missed anyone, please forward the message to them. We need your help locating all our unit members.
Need help reaching:
Chuck Lenane
Thank you and we look forward to seeing everyone on the 24th.
Alex Baez
Lieutenant Alex Baez
Hollywood Entertainment District
(213) 485-4302
“One Team, All In”
Image of Ray Perez, Bobby Arcos, and that damn patch is ©2018 MichaelKohlhaas.org. It was made up out of this picture of Bobby, and this picture of Ray, and this picture of the patch. The words in Perez’s mouth come from this transcript of his testimony.
- I mean, I don’t know that it was ALL of them, but up to a rounding error, anyway.
- I mean, I assume he had no clue. If he had a clue I’m assuming he’d still be in prison, or at least released from prison and kicked off the force and doing something shady like driving Harvey Weinstein’s limo around town like his old running buddy Rafael Perez, the most corrupt cop in the history of the LAPD.
- Don’t get me started on the damn LAPD and their pathetic and habitual CPRA violations. I asked for this in September 2016 and they just gave it to me yesterday. That is 19 months. And there were only about 23 pages of responsive emails. They need to be sued repeatedly until it starts to seem more efficient and economical to just follow the damn law in the first place.
