Just the Facts: Bogus Toys, Big Bucks, Big Danger

The time: Dec. 22, a Tuesday, 12 noon. The place: Parker Center, police headquarters, city of Los Angeles. My assignment: the big Christmas toy caper.

It is unseasonably cold here in the city of angels as I make my way to the Financial Crimes Division, which used to be known as bunco. A couple of top detectives, Belinda Gomez and John Rodriguez, are already there.

Beside them sits the evidence:

A flock of Tweety Birds.

A big pile of Teletubbies.

And a bunch of other counterfeit merch.

I ask Det. Gomez: “How many toys did you expect to seize?”

“Maybe 2,000,” she says.

“And how many did you get?”

“Approximately 130,000 . . . 130,532, to be exact.”

I whistle.

That’s a lot of Tweeties and Tubbies.

*

Bill Ellis is a private investigator, a gumshoe, a shamus. He specializes in trademark infringement.

(Sam Spade found falcons, Bill Ellis finds Tweety Birds.)

If, say, Warner Bros. wants to make sure nobody’s selling bogus Bugs or Taz or Tweety toys or games or clothes, the company turns to him. Or if Microsoft wants to make sure nobody’s selling ersatz PC software, the company turns to him.

“Southern California is often called the center of counterfeiting in the United States,” Ellis says.

For example:

“Microsoft has a 30% problem” with counterfeit merchandise, he points out.

(A warning: If any of your CD-ROMs happen to say “Windows 94,” you may have a problem.)

Ellis gave the cops a hand with the Big Holiday Tweety and Teletubby Bust.

A raid was made Monday at several stores in the toy district, a series of wholesale and discount houses in the general vicinity of 4th and Wall.

This is a busy time of year in the toy biz. First clue that something’s not on the up and up? It’s when a new item that regularly goes for $15 to $20 is available for less than five bucks.

Take this red Teletubby, for instance.

I have never seen a private eye hold up a red Teletubby until this moment, but Bill Ellis has one in his hand. And, just like the falcon Sam Spade eventually did find, this thing’s a fake.

“This one is typical,” Ellis says. “It’s nonlicensed. It’s made without any controls over how it’s made. It’s made where nobody sees it made. Then it’s shipped to where nobody’s checking. And then it’s sold to someone who doesn’t know it’s a counterfeit.

“It could be colored with bad dyes. Any number of things could be wrong. A child could be in serious danger, getting this toy for Christmas.”

Good thing the cops were on top of the situation, making one of the largest counterfeit-goods seizures in the department’s history.

In custody: Sung Joo Lim, 35, of Lim’s Creations; Sun Kim, 32, of Ace-One Trading; and Dae Yeob Hwang of Dae Hae America, all of L.A., all on felony trafficking charges.

Confiscated: 130,532 phony toys.

Street value?

“Well,” Det. Gomez says, “take 130,000 toys, multiply that by, say, $16 apiece, and you can see, it could go into the millions.”

For selling generic toys passed off as genuine, the culprits could face stiff fines and jail time. Furthermore, because corporations rather than individuals are involved, the usual fines could be doubled, even trebled. A six-figure fine is a distinct possibility.

That’d teach ‘em not to peddle illegal Tweeties.

The suspects are out on bail, their stores are still open, and, remember, there’s only two shopping days till Christmas. Buyers beware.

(If your toy says “Warmer Bros.,” you may have a problem.)

Now I finally understand why the Coyote had so much trouble with that ACME equipment he used to try to capture the Roadrunner.

He probably bought it off these guys.

*

It is my duty to report one more thing from the big toy bust.

A television newsman was in the room at the Financial Crimes Division with me Tuesday. And you know how TV people are: They ask the looniest questions.

“What’s a Tweety Bird?” this one asked.

“Right here,” Bill Ellis said.

“No, really. What is this Tweety Bird thing you keep talking about?”

The crime beat. It’s a dirty job, 24 hours a day, here on the mean streets of Los Angeles.

Mike Downey’s column appears Sundays, Wednesdays and Fridays. Write to him at Times Mirror Square, Los Angeles 90053. E-mail: mike.downey@latimes.com