Randy McCain knows that bribery is a common cost of doing business in a lot of places around the world, with payments viewed as part of the local culture. He also knows that a lot of immigrants to Los Angeles arrive without much knowledge about the business culture of the U.S.
McCain has to draw a line somewhere, though, because he is the senior lead officer assigned to illegal vending in the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) Central Area, where many merchants have long dealt in counterfeit items ranging from clothing and purses carry fake designer labels to the latest CDs and DVDs that have been copied without permission.
A local merchant named Demba Camara — an immigrant from the African nation of Senegal — recently crossed the line with an offer of a bribe, according to McCain, who says he reported the matter to detectives even as he hoped the suspect would pull back from the precipice of the crime. McCain held such hopes because he has known the suspect for 10 years, a cordial relationship forged while the cop patrolled the Fashion District and the merchant hawked merchandise from one location or another.
Then McCain and other officers arrested Camara's wife, Karina Gonzalez, on charges of sales of counterfeit merchandise from a location in the Fashion District.
"After hearing about his wife's arrest, Camara called me — not once but several times," McCain said. "Then he sent a text message to my private cell phone. It was pretty obvious he was serious about helping his wife."
The text message said in part: "I PAY U," according to investigators, who then set up a phone call between Camera and McCain for the purposed of recording the conversation.
"I was really hoping that he would have reconsidered his impulse, but the conversation told me he was serious," McCain said. "I was really surprised."
McCain agreed to meet Camara near the Los Angeles Convention Center near Figueroa Street and Pico Boulevard at approximately 12 noon on July 1. McCain arrived in a police car and in full uniform, and Camera handed him the cash in full view of undercover officers stationed in the area, according to investigators.
McCain said the incident marked the first time in his 25 years on LAPD that he had been offered a bribe.
"They even teach us in the academy that some day we might be offered a bribe," he said. "We know sometimes that it can be a matter of a person coming from another locale where bribes are expected, but that was not the case here."
McCain said that Camara's 10 years of experience in business in Los Angeles should have been enough for him to know that bribery is not viewed as a common cost of doing business here.
"We gave [him] several opportunities to think over his offer and withdraw it" McCain added.
Camara went ahead with his attempt, though, ending up in jail in lieu of $25,000 — and facing charges of bribing a police official.
Photo by Walter Melton
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