Editor's note: Many of you know Inigo Montoya as a blogger on VIB and the TH.  While he has submitted this under his pen name his identity is well known to VIB and his background makes him an excellent researcher.   Inigo has uncovered some items we were aware of at VIB as well as several new items we had not discovered. 

Well done and thanks to Inigo for this excellent article. And remember, we always welcome your contributions.

 8/26/09

Peeling the Onion

Getting to know H Martin Foundation, one layer at a time 
By: Inigo Montoya

The VIB editor and researchers have uncovered lots of information about HMF. What else is out there? Can an armchair researcher dig up some more facts? During a recent family visit to Los Angeles I found myself with some free time, so I decided to do some more digging. Here are some findings that I believe have not yet been reported by VIB.

First stop was the IRS website, where I used the search engine for Publication 78, “Search for Charities”. No hits on “H. Martin” and “Villapando” there.

Corporations and LLCs domiciled or doing business in California are required to register with the Secretary of State, which was my next website stop. Here’s what I found:

Three things caught my eye, the “suspended” status, the name of the Agent for Service of Process, and the street address.

On to the street address. A property records search with BlockShopper Los Angeles revealed the following about 409 Isabel St.:

It sold for $228,500 on October 31, 2003

Buyer: Nancy Anne W Lane

Seller: Ametes C Villapando and Rolando Villapando

Note that the first name of the co-seller is “Rolando”, a fairly common Filipino name, and not “Rolanso” as listed in the Agent for Service of Process.

Rolando Villapando

4510 Ellenwood Drive Phones: (323) 255-8047

Los Angeles CA 90041

Above name, address and phone number are also listed as a business under “Medical Examiner” and “Physicians-&-Surgeon-Autopsy Service” headings on a couple of online yellow pages type listings. A search for Rolando Villapando in the State Board of physicians did not result in any hits. Decided to suspend the “Rolando” thread there, unless something else comes up. The phone number angle has been researched by VIB.

As to Rolando Villapando’s street address, here’s something interesting from VIB’s earlier report:

“The H. Martin Foundation lists an address of 4510 Ellenwood Drive Los Angeles CA 90041. It appears this is a residential neighborhood. It also seems that the house number 4510 does not exist on Ellenwood Drive.”

Yes, indeed, my search for 4510 Ellenwood Dr in the LA County Assessor’s website didn’t result in any hits., which is probably why VIB speculated that it doesn’t exist. However, 4506 shows up as a “multiple family residence”, and the parcel map shows the next lot as 4516. 4510 must be in that “multiple family” compound.

Mapquest shows Ellenwood Dr to be in the Eagle Rock area of Los Angeles. What a coincidence! We were scheduled to drop off a gift to a friend in Eagle Rock, so I decided to swing by and take a photo. Here’s what I took:

If you go to Google Maps and enter 4508 Ellenwood Dr., Los Angeles, CA, you’ll see a pretty much identical photo under it’s street view feature. Our subject 4510 is behind 4508 and 4512, it’s that house with the TV antenna and brick chimney. It is in a typical residential neighborhood, what strikes me is that 4512 is a very small cottage, maybe 1 to 2 bedrooms. Google Earth shows 4510 to be much bigger.

THE NEVADA LAYER

It was also mentioned in an earlier VIB report that HMF has a Nevada address. So, my next step was to search the Nevada Secretary of State website. Here’s the hit:

H. MARTIN FOUNDATION FAR EAST HUMANITARIAN SERVICES, USA

Reservation Holder

No Registered Agent associated with this company

It looks like the name was reserved in 2005, but the reservation expired. What’s interesting is the last name of the reservation holder, “Edpao”. Wasn’t that last name mentioned in Part II of VIB’s report?

In the spirit of peeling the layers of an onion, I searched for “Edpao” as Officer/Director of any Nevada corporation. Holy guacamole, here’s what came up:

FLOR LAT VILLAPANDO, INC.

Business Entity Information

Registered Agent Information

View all business entities under this registered agent

Actions\Amendments

Click here to view 2 actions\amendments associated with this company

Ave E. Edpao is the Treasurer of Flor Lat Villapando, Inc., a fairly recent corporation (filed 6/2/2008) but is already in Default status. Treasurer, Secretary, President and Director have identical addresses, a PO Box in Las Vegas, which likely belongs to the “Registered Agent”. These are minimal positions required for incorporation. The President and Director positions are filled by one and the same person, Flor Lat Villapando. The “Registered Agent” is a commercial entity that provides incorporation services in the State of Nevada. Employing the services of such an entity is a fairly common practice among non-resident incorporators. Online search on the secretary, Yasmin V. Ibrahim, did not reveal anything interesting.

I wonder if our city leaders and staff did the same “due diligence” that VIB and others have done thus far. Did I uncover anything suspicious? Not necessarily, unless you put these findings in the context of what HMF claims to have / own / promises to provide. This whole thing reminds me of Elmer Fudd’ s “There’s something screwy going on around here”. Hope we’re not heading for Looney Tunes time in Vallejo!