OPCO finances to be aired out in front of court judge
By BYCAROLYN SACKARIASON Daily Press Staff Writer
A court-ordered deadline has come and gone for the chairman of a local neighborhood organization to turn over its finances to one of its members.
Rick Laudati, chairman of the Ocean Park Community Organization, was ordered by Superior Court Judge Allan J. Goodman to make public the group’s bank statements by Nov. 4.
Tom Fuller, an OPCO member, filed a formal complaint in September of 2002, asking for the organization’s financial records dating back to 2001. The complaint and Fuller’s previous requests to inspect the records have gone unanswered by Laudati. OPCO never responded in court to Fuller’s complaint, which put it in technical default, thus preventing the organization from defending itself.
Meanwhile, Fuller is trying to serve court papers to Laudati for a third time. Because of some legal technicalities, Fuller and his attorney, Gary Clouse, were asked by Judge Goodman to amend the complaint, which required Laudati to be served again. Earlier this year, it took months for Fuller to serve Laudati because he couldn’t be located. He was finally spotted in the DMV line in Santa Monica.
And the current attempt to find Laudati, who lives in the Ocean Park neighborhood, appears to be just as difficult for Fuller.
“In spite of our good efforts we weren’t able to get him served,” Fuller said, adding he has hired a private detective to find Laudati.
OPCO board members in August received a packet of financial documents from a fellow board member, however Fuller said he has not received anything.
Fuller, who got involved in OPCO in early 2001, asked to review the accounting books and finances, as well as a list of the organization’s current membership. But his requests were ignored for more than two years, which piqued his curiosity.
OPCO was formed in 1978 as a community organization for the Ocean Park neighborhood as a nonprofit corporation. Under California law, it’s required to provide its membership with financial records, according to Fuller’s complaint.
In his written request to Laudati in June 2001, Fuller said he was concerned about an apparent discrepancy between the number of reported members compared to the small amount of membership fees collected.
It’s unclear how much money OPCO has collected from its members, how many members there are, and what the dues structure is. Some estimates put the organization’s membership between 150 and 500.
One of OPCO’s functions is to review development projects and then recommend to the Planning Commission and City Council that they be approved or denied.
Close to a dozen board members have resigned over OPCO’s inaction in the past year. Board members Audrea Golding Bitler, Ted Winterer and Elan Glasser attempted to work out a resolution with the board to get the finances released last fall. But they resigned last November out of frustration that no progress had been made. In early 2002, Bob Loftus, Joe Pipersky and Bill Sunblad resigned over the financial questions.
The last bank statement that was made public sits in a file in City Hall that details OPCO’s finances from December 1999 to January 2000. At that time, OPCO had $2,933 in a Wells Fargo Bank account. During that month, deposits totaling $220 were recorded and $240 worth of withdrawals were made — all of which were made from ATM machines in cash.
Laudati didn’t return phone calls seeking comment. He has declined to speak to the Daily Press in the past.
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on November 17, 2003. Read the original PDF.