The husband of a City of Los Angeles department head is apologizing for doing"an awful thing" when he called the mayor's office to complain that his car was being impounded by the LAPD, it was reported today.
The Los Angeles Daily News reported that Maurice Levin, a North Hollywood businessman, admits he asked for special treatment when his car was impounded by an LAPD officer because it had expired registration. Levin is married to city computer manager Randi Levin.
"I did an awful thing when I was pulled over for a traffic stop," Levin told the Daily News. "This is all my fault. I behaved badly and I apologize."
Two investigations -- by the LAPD and its Office of Inspector General -- have been launched to determine if Levin had been granted special favors, department spokesman Cmdr. Andrew Smith told the Daily News. News of the controversy was first reported by CBS2.
Levin was stopped for running a red signal at Ventura at Coldwater Canyon boulevards, CBS2 reported. As his car was being towed to an impound yard, Levin apparently called the mayor's office to complain, according to the Daily News.
A whistleblower told the Daily News that the mayor's office called police Chief Charlie Beck, who contacted the Van Nuys division commander, Capt. Paul Snell. He authorized the car's release back to Levin, and the city paid the $325.80 impound fee to the official police garage, Archer's Tow in North Hollywood.
Snell told CBS2 that he "received a cal 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 I look at the impound," the station reported on its website, CBS Los Angeles.
Levin has since reimbursed LAPD for the tow charge that it covered, the newspaper reported.
