Chief Placed on Leave During RTD Probe

RTD Police Chief James Burgess was placed on paid leave Wednesday pending the outcome of a transit district investigation into allegations that Burgess engaged in nepotism and ticket-fixing.

General Manager Alan Pegg confirmed that he placed Burgess, who has headed the department since 1978, on leave pending further investigation. “Clearly we have a set of issues we regard as important,” Pegg said in a telephone interview Wednesday. “We’re going to proceed to deal with the open questions as quickly as possible.”

Burgess, who has strongly denied improper conduct, said no time limit was placed on the leave, but said he expects it to continue until “we get the air cleared.”

“It was a decision (Pegg) made that he felt was appropriate . . . because of the (media) coverage and everything else,” Burgess said.

The RTD board ordered the district’s internal watchdog, Inspector General Ernesto Fuentes, to investigate Burgess after a former transit district police officer, Nicholas Granados, submitted a letter with detailed charges against the chief. Among the allegations was that Burgess improperly canceled parking tickets to aid a friend, that he hired his daughter and nephew, that he stayed at the Palm Springs condominium of an RTD contractor and that he discriminated against Latinos in promotions.

Tough New Law

The Times reported Tuesday that Burgess may have run afoul of a tough new state anti-ticket-fixing law last December when he ordered dozens of parking tickets issued by an officer at the El Monte bus depot retrieved from cars and canceled. Burgess acknowledged he acted after receiving a complaint from a RTD secretary who car-pooled with his assistant police chief, but denied his actions were intended to benefit any individual.

The law, passed last June in the wake of a ticket-fixing scandal in San Diego, made it a misdemeanor for any police officer or police executive to alter or nullify a parking ticket once it had been written and placed on a car windshield. Other law enforcement agencies, including the California Highway Patrol, quickly adopted new procedures prohibiting commanders from canceling or altering tickets.

However, Burgess said he believes the new law is unclear. He also said he was merely correcting an error in judgment by one of his officers, who issued too many tickets after being instructed to cite only flagrant violators during a period of disruptive construction at the El Monte facility.

Burgess also acknowledged two weeks ago that he encouraged his daughter to apply for a job in his department and personally signed papers hiring her. He defended the action, saying his position is not covered by the district’s anti-nepotism policy, which prohibits close relatives of board members and of top RTD executives from working at the district.

Denied Conflict

Although he denied any conflict of interest, the chief also confirmed he had been a guest two times at the Palm Springs condominium of Doug Robinson, owner of Lincoln Security Services in Santa Fe Springs, an RTD contractor. Burgess oversees the Lincoln contract and acknowledged he has made decisions on assigning work to the firm. Burgess and Robinson said they have been longtime friends and shared expenses, although Burgess acknowledged he had not paid for the accommodations.

RTD board member Carmen Estrada, who asked for the internal investigation, said placing Burgess on leave seemed appropriate. “I would have been shocked if they hadn’t done something,” she said. “It shows the district is seriously looking at allegations and doing its best to ensure transit police department is without blemishes.”