Hollywood arsonist trying to keep mom from being extradited?
Mom — and the unpaid-for bodywork Mom is wanted in Germany for
The mother of a German national suspected of one of the worst arson sprees in Los Angeles history appeared before a U.S. magistrate judge Tuesday in the German government’s effort to extradite her on fraud charges…
His mother, 53-year-old Dorothee Burkhart, was arrested by Los Angeles police during a traffic stop on December 28, a day before the first of 52 fires, mostly in parked cars, that investigators suspect were part of a series of arsons.
The son, who was arrested Monday, was charged with one count of arson of an inhabited dwelling. He is likely to face additional charges as the investigation moves forward, said Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa…
It did not appear that she knew her son had been arrested a day earlier on the arson charge…
A federal extradition complaint said she is wanted in Germany on 19 counts of fraud, including an allegation that she defrauded the doctor who performed breast augmentation surgery on her in 2004. The other fraud charges center on rent and security deposits for apartments in Frankfurt, Germany, the complaint said.
Dorothee Burkhart left Germany last October for California, where she lived with her son in a Hollywood apartment, according to the extradition complaint.
Investigators seized press clippings of arson attacks in Germany from the apartment, according to a law enforcement official who spoke on the condition of anonymity…
Los Angeles Police Chief Charlie Beck said officials believe — and hope — the fires were set by one person. But they will proceed as though others may be involved until they know for sure, Beck said…
Los Angeles County Reserve Sheriff’s Deputy Shervin Lalezary, who draws a salary of $1 a year, was hailed as a hero for arresting Burkhart. Lalezary, an Iranian-born lawyer who moonlights as a deputy, pulled over a van in Hollywood driven by a man who resembled the person seen on the surveillance video. With the help of backup officers, he then arrested the driver, Burkhart.
This will probably put a crimp in mom’s new career in California. Apparently, she’s been advertising her services for “sensual tantra massage” and offering “full body hot oil body to body sliding massage”.
