Settlement with motel owner seen as victory for all involved
Nearly two years after an investigation into alleged drug use and prostitution at two Santa Monica motels began, the owner of the establishments on Friday escaped 88 of the 99 criminal charges levied against him.
Maurice Farzam pleaded no contest to the remaining 11 misdemeanor counts, including committing a public nuisance at the Holiday and American motels, attempting to receive a stolen credit card and violating a variety of health and safety codes.
If Farzam adheres to a nine-page list of conditions imposed by City Hall, he will remain a free man. The motel owner spent three days in custody last summer.
“My goal was to stop the public nuisance portion of it... and I believe we’ve done that,” said Deputy City Attorney Betty Haviland, who prosecuted the case. “It’s my hope that this will solve the problem for both the city of Santa Monica and residents in the area.”
According to the terms of the settlement, Farzam must serve three years of probation. He was also ordered to immediately sign a form authorizing police to arrest loiterers, evict any tenants engaged in drug use or prostitution, remove pay phones, rent rooms for a minimum of eight hours at a time, buy security cameras, hire a patrol guard, install high-intensity lighting systems and clean up both properties, among many other conditions.
Santa Monica Superior Court Judge Bernard Kamins also ordered nearly $18,000 in fines, but said he would stay those indefinitely if Farzam cooperates. Kamins said lawyers on the case did a remarkable job by keeping Farzam from spending “a couple of years in county jail.”
“Thank you very much, Mr. Farzam,” he said, as Farzam’s wife watched from the courtroom. “Hopefully, (you’ll now have) only a good association with the court.”
The Santa Monica Police Department capped a year-long investigation into Farzam on July 30 of last year. Lt. Frank Fabrega said police fielded more than 150 calls over a span of 4 and 1/2 years related to the Holiday Motel at 1102 Pico Blvd. and the American Motel at 1243 Lincoln Blvd.
Farzam was arrested at the time for pimping and held in lieu of $200,000 bail.
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on April 3, 2004. Read the original PDF.