SHORE HOTEL — The Chief Operating Officer of the Shore Hotel was arrested Friday morning on a slew of charges, including the importing and selling of an assault rifle, a spokesperson from the California Office of the Attorney General told the Daily Press.
Steve Farzam is also charged with identity theft and impersonating a law enforcement officer, Nicholas Pacilio said.
Farzam was taken into custody in Santa Monica at 11:30 a.m. Friday and posted $805,000 bail at 7:30 p.m. according to the Los Angeles County Sheriff Department's website. He turned 35 last week.
The operation was led by the Attorney General's E-Crime unit as a part of a joint operation with the U.S Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms, Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the California Department of Motor Vehicles, Pacilio said.
Investigators raided his office at the Shore Hotel and his home, located in Los Angeles just outside of the Santa Monica city limit.
A representative from the Shore Hotel declined to comment for this article.
The Shore Hotel is located on Ocean Avenue near the corner of Broadway in Downtown Santa Monica. It opened in 2011 and, according to its website, rooms start at $279 per night.
According to a website called Hotel Executive, Farzam enrolled in the Santa Barbara Police Academy at the age of 19 and "eventually became a law enforcement officer."
"When he's not working," the website says, "Mr. Farzam enjoys flying fixed-wing aircraft, restoring his Squad 51 fire truck from the television show ‘Emergency!,' and volunteering as a tactical officer at Southern California's Building Unique Youth Alternatives, a non-profit organization that works with at-risk youths."
dave@www.smdp.com
