Slaying Suspect Died as Police Were Closing In

Los Angeles detectives investigating the slaying of a Hollywood recording studio executive said Thursday that they were “tightening the noose” on the president of a Huntington Beach finance company when their prime suspect died April 6.

Tips and financial records were leading investigators straight to businessman Coleman Allen, 57, as the mastermind behind the January shooting death of Barry J. Skolnick, police said Thursday.

“When we heard he was dead, we were surprised. And then it sunk in: What a tragedy,” Los Angeles Police Det. Roseanne Parino said of Allen’s death by natural causes. “What a shame he died and didn’t have to pay the price.”

LAPD investigatorsdo not believe that Allen pulled the trigger in Skolnick’s death. At a news conference Thursday, police announced a reward and implored Allen’s former associates and borrowers to step forward with information on the shooter, suspected to be a hired gun.

“He’s dead, he’s not going to hurt anyone anymore,” Det. Rick Jackson said. “People out there have information, we’re sure of that, and we want to hear from them.”

Police offered a $25,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the person who shot Skolnick in the head as he walked through the Sunset Boulevard parking garage of Hollywood Recording Services on Jan. 30.

A grainy image of a light-colored Chevrolet Astro, captured by a garage camera in the moments before and after Skolnick’s death, was released Thursday. Detectives suspect that the late model minivan was driven by the shooter.

Skolnick, 30, was manager of Hollywood Recording and had been the company’s owner before Allen took over in 1994. Skolnick owed Allen’s finance company, Premium Commercial Services Corp., more than $900,000, according to court records.

In the weeks before Skolnick’s death, one of his creditors sued Premium Commercial, alleging that the Thousand Oaks resident owed $500,000 in unpaid debt.

After Allen took over Skolnick’s business, the studio bought a $2.5 million life insurance policy on Skolnick that police said Thursday was the likely motive for the studio executive’s slaying.

The policy named Allen’s Hollywood Recording as the sole beneficiary. The proceeds from that policy now sit in an interest-bearing account awaiting the determination of the Skolnick investigation, LAPD Det. Dennis Kilcoyne said Thursday.

Even if police can prove that Allen engineered Skolnick’s death, investigators said, the insurance money still might end up in the hands of Hollywood Recording, a company now run by Allen’s widow, Barbara Dale Allen.

“Corporations can’t commit a crime,” Kilcoyne said. “They may get the money no matter what happened, as far as I can see. It’s crazy.”

An attorney for Premium Commercial said Thursday that the swirl of controversy surrounding the firm has devastated Barbara Allen and left her employees traumatized.

“This is all so shocking it just boggles the mind,” said attorney Lawrence H. Nagler of Beverly Hills. He described Coleman Allen as an “honorable, good man” and said his widow is “absolutely” not involved in any wrongdoing.

Police said that Barbara Allen and company officials have cooperated with the investigation and that there is no evidence any current member of the company committed a crime.

Detectives declined to elaborate on the evidence pointing to Allen, but they marveled at the ever-widening scope of the case involving Premium Commercial, a firm that made millions in loans each month to fledgling and risky businesses.

At least seven agencies are investigating Allen and Premium Commercial in connection with a series of violent crimes, including the 1995 slaying of a Fountain Valley flight attendant who apparently was the mistaken victim of a contract hit.

Orange County authorities have charged two suspected hit men--small business owners Leonard Owen Mundy and Paul Gordon Alleyne, both of Los Angeles--in shootings that have been linked to Premium Commercial.

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Times staff writer Emi Endo contributed to this report.