LOS ANGELES - A mayoral appointee who was positioning himself to run for Dennis Zine's District 3 City Council seat resigned his leadership post Wednesday after admitting he collected child pornography on his home computer.
Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa issued a statement saying the resignation had been accepted.
Chatsworth Patch learned midday Wednesday that the FBI raided the Tarzana home of Al Abrams, 63, the unpaid president of the Board of Neighborhood Commissioners (BONC).
Blaming a "split personality" as a result of surgery for a tumor on his spine, he said his other personality, using the name BoyWonderUSA, trolled online for sexual photos of children as young as four.
"That other person was watching kiddie porn," he told KCBS.
“It is what my split personality decided to do. That’s what happens when you have tumors,” he said.
A court affidavit filed by the FBI said Abrams' home was searched Friday for "any records, documents, applications or materials ... that identify any minor visually depicted while engaging in sexually explicit conduct,'' the Los Angeles Times reported.
Abrams' wife Linda, chair of the Valley Interfaith Council, backs up her husband, saying to KCBS, “Absolutely, I do.” She confirmed that he was in terrible pain.
He has two adult daughters.
He was not arrested, but his computer was confiscated by the FBI.
No one has been charged and the investigation is continuing, FBI spokeswoman Laura Eimiller told The Times.
"I'm not a criminal," Abrams told KCBS.
BONC is the city's seven-member supervising agency for the nearly 100 Neighborhood Councils and assists the Department of Neighborhood Empowerment. [link]
Abrams, who served on BONC since 2008, owns a public relations consulting firm and worked on ballot measures in Agoura Hills, Westlake Village and Walnut Creek, and claims to have worked on campaigns for Robert Kennedy, Al Gore and Jimmy Carter. He's a founding member of the Tarzana Neighborhood Council.
He also served on the board of trustees of the Mirman School for the Gifted where he was chair of the Facilities and Building Committee.
-- City News Service and KCBS contributed to this report.
RELATED
● “72 Charged in Online Child Pornography Ring”- LA Times
(Saul Daniels is the editor of Chatsworth Patch where this article was first posted. Daniels worked for the Los Angeles Herald Examiner for eight years and the LA Times for 19. He is a member of the Chatsworth Neighborhood Council and can be reached at [email protected]) –cw
Tags: Al Abrams, Board of Neighborhood Commissioners, child pornography, FBI, neighborhood councils, Tarzana Neighborhood Council, Linda Abrams, split personality
CityWatch
Vol 9 Issue 62
Pub: Aug 5, 2011
