Accused Madam Aided LAPD, Attorney Says

A lawyer for Elizabeth Adams, accused of running a brothel in the “Beverly Hills madam” case, filed a court motion for dismissal of the charges against her Wednesday on grounds that she worked for 16 years as an informant for the Los Angeles Police Department.

Attorney Anthony P. Brooklier said Adams was protected from prosecution under a 1973 plea bargaining agreement with police. The Los Angeles Superior Court motion contends that Adams, 55, has cooperated in the investigations of such figures as fugitive financier Robert L. Vesco, who is still being sought on a variety of federal charges.

Brooklier maintains that Adams, who according to police allegedly operated the most lavish and lucrative prostitution network on the West Coast, obtained her information through a “pillow talk network” of high-priced call girls who reported what they had heard from clients.

Adams would then provide police with information on “numerous criminal offenders,” the motion states. The motion includes a declaration from Glenn R. Souza, a retired Los Angeles police vice investigator. Souza states that Adams assisted police in “intelligence-gathering” operations.

“She (Adams) has had a longstanding relationship with the LAPD, and for whatever reasons, they have chosen not to honor it now,” Brooklier said in an interview Wednesday afternoon. “I think they should have to honor it, and I think the court will make them honor it.”

Los Angeles Police Cmdr. William Booth refused to respond to Adams’ allegations or Souza’s comments.

“We never comment on our informants,” Booth said. “If she was or wasn’t . . . informants are highly classified . . . especially long-term informants.”

In the lengthy dismissal motion, Brooklier argued that Adams was a recognized “agent” who served police faithfully and well after her 1973 arrest on pandering and prostitution charges.

Adams, who is also known as Alex Fleming, faces charges of pandering, receiving stolen property and grand theft. After being charged last year, Adams was freed on $210,000 bail. She would receive a mandatory jail term of three to six years if convicted.

Police contend that Adams presided over an international prostitution service that catered to businessmen, celebrities and even Saudi princes at a cost of up to $2,000 a day. When early court filings indicated that she might have worked as a confidential police informant over the years, Adams denied it.

Brooklier said that at first, Adams did not want to disclose her role as an informant in order to protect herself from those whose names she gave to police. But Brooklier said Adams now believes that revealing her work with the police is crucial for her defense.

In the motion, Brooklier also claims that Adams was named as a police informant in a mid-1970s-era Senate subcommittee investigation, although he could not produce the proof Wednesday.

Vesco, who is still wanted in connection with the charges dating back to 1973, is the only “offender” identified in the motion. Brooklier said he may name others fingered by Adams during the court hearing. He also pledged to produce other police personnel to confirm her status.

“The relationship between the defendant and the police was a well-known fact,” Brooklier’s motion says. “In fact, on several occasions, she was encouraged to continue her activities so that she could supply the department with needed inside information.”

Brooklier said police were supposed to protect Adams. Instead, he added, her work on their behalf resulted in her being threatened several times and severely beaten twice.

Adams’ dismissal motion will be heard when her case begins Dec. 1. in Superior Court. Deputy Dist. Atty. Alan Carter, who is prosecuting Adams, said he plans to oppose it.