After his wife was arrested on suspicion of peddling counterfeit handbags, a man allegedly resorted to bribery. These are the real deal. (July 3, 2009)
LOS ANGELES -- A downtown fashion retailer was arrested this week after he allegedly handed a cop in uniform $2,000 in cash, apparently in hopes that the man's wife would be let off the hook after her own arrest, Los Angeles police say.
Thirty-five-year-old Demba Camera was arrested on suspicion of bribing a police official; his bail was set at $25,000.
Police say they arrested Camera's wife, 24-year-old Karina Gonzalez, for the third time on suspicion of selling counterfeit handbags out of Camera's Fashion District storefront in the 900 block of South Maple Street. Camera, they allege, wanted desperately for officers to undo the arrest, and soon he sent several text messages to Senior Lead Officer Randy McCain, who has worked the disctrict's streets since the mid-1990s.
"He knows everyone, and everyone knows him," states Lt. Paul Vernon of McCain. "But apparently at least one person did not know him well enough to know he's an honest cop, working for a professional police department."
One text allegedly states, in part, "I PAY U."
McCain reported the message to his superiors, and soon a sting operation was set up to nab the suspect. Police allege that Camera handed cash to the officer after he showed up in uniform to a Convention Center-area meeting set up by investigators, some of whom were observing undercover. After McCain arrived in his black-and-white patrol car, the suspect handed the cash over in the very kind of counterfeit handbag that got his wife in trouble in the first place, police say.
Thirty-five-year-old Demba Camera was arrested on suspicion of bribing a police official; his bail was set at $25,000.
Police say they arrested Camera's wife, 24-year-old Karina Gonzalez, for the third time on suspicion of selling counterfeit handbags out of Camera's Fashion District storefront in the 900 block of South Maple Street. Camera, they allege, wanted desperately for officers to undo the arrest, and soon he sent several text messages to Senior Lead Officer Randy McCain, who has worked the disctrict's streets since the mid-1990s.
"He knows everyone, and everyone knows him," states Lt. Paul Vernon of McCain. "But apparently at least one person did not know him well enough to know he's an honest cop, working for a professional police department."
One text allegedly states, in part, "I PAY U."
McCain reported the message to his superiors, and soon a sting operation was set up to nab the suspect. Police allege that Camera handed cash to the officer after he showed up in uniform to a Convention Center-area meeting set up by investigators, some of whom were observing undercover. After McCain arrived in his black-and-white patrol car, the suspect handed the cash over in the very kind of counterfeit handbag that got his wife in trouble in the first place, police say.
