Pico Motel Owner Arrested for Pimping

By Mark McGuigan
Staff Writer

August 6 -- A Pico neighborhood motel owner has been arrested and charged with pimping following a police sting on his motel on the night of Wednesday July 30, police officials said.

The man, Maurice Farzam, was arrested following a yearlong police investigation into illegal activity at the Holiday Motel on 1102 Pico Boulevard that included prostitution, drug-dealing and public nuisance charges.

According to investigators, the motel has a long history of illegal activity in the neighborhood. In the past four-and-a-half years it has been the focus of more than 150 complaints from local residents, including calls to the vice squad reporting suspicious activity in and around the property.

Twenty-four neighbors provided police investigators with signed declarations outlining the extent of the criminal activity. According to police officials, the level of crime around the motel has had an adverse effect on the community and much of the activity was “common knowledge” to residents of the area.

In addition to the criminal investigation undertaken by units from the Santa Monica Police Department, members of the Santa Monica Fire Department and Building and Safety Department conducted their own examinations of the hotel property.

Inspections revealed more than 100 building code violations involving sub-standard maintenance and sanitary conditions in the motel, investigators said. Fire Department officials also cited four fire code violations including non-existent or inoperable smoke detectors.

Following his arrest, Farzam was booked for pimping under section 266(H) of the California Penal Code and bail was set at $200,000.

The Santa Monica City Attorney’s office also filed additional charges against Farzam including credit card fraud and accepting stolen property.