Yukio Umemura

Despite objections by the prosecutors, a Municipal Court judge Wednesday dismissed a grand theft charge against a former Japanese dignitary whose shoplifting case was initially dropped after Mayor Tom Bradley contacted police at Los Angeles International Airport. Judge Ronald Schoenberg granted a request for a "civil compromise" by defense attorneys representing Yukio Umemura, 59, and ordered him to pay $300 in court costs.

Despite objections by the prosecutors, a Municipal Court judge Wednesday dismissed a grand theft charge against a former Japanese dignitary whose shoplifting case was initially dropped after Mayor Tom Bradley contacted police at Los Angeles International Airport. Judge Ronald Schoenberg granted a request for a "civil compromise" by defense attorneys representing Yukio Umemura, 59, and ordered him to pay $300 in court costs.

Authorities are pursuing a shoplifting case against a Japanese dignitary who was released within hours of his arrest last month after Mayor Tom Bradley contacted police at Los Angeles International Airport. Los Angeles police detectives presented the case to city prosecutors, who will decide whether to file misdemeanor counts against Yukio Umemura for allegedly stealing merchandise at an airport gift shop, according to Peter Covette, an assistant supervisor in the city attorney's office.

Authorities are pursuing a shoplifting case against a Japanese dignitary who was released within hours of his arrest last month after Mayor Tom Bradley contacted police at Los Angeles International Airport. Los Angeles police detectives presented the case to city prosecutors, who will decide whether to file misdemeanor counts against Yukio Umemura for allegedly stealing merchandise at an airport gift shop, according to Peter Covette, an assistant supervisor in the city attorney's office.

Arraignment was delayed Monday for a former top official of the Japanese city of Nagoya who is accused of stealing $450 in leather goods from a gift shop at Los Angeles International Airport. Yukio Umemura did not appear in court in Los Angeles for the brief hearing on the grand theft charge. The ex-official's arraignment was rescheduled for July 3.

A concessionaire at Los Angeles International Airport decided to press felony theft charges last month against a Japanese dignitary, but then dropped the complaint after conferring with a top aide to Mayor Tom Bradley, according to a police supervisor's log. The document indicates that Jeffrey A. Matsui, the mayor's executive assistant, held discussions with the vendor, Duty Free Shoppers Ltd.

A grand theft charge was filed Thursday against a Japanese dignitary who was freed from custody last month and had his case temporarily dropped after Mayor Tom Bradley called airport police to discuss the case.

A concessionaire at Los Angeles International Airport decided to press felony theft charges last month against a Japanese dignitary, but then dropped the complaint after conferring with a top aide to Mayor Tom Bradley, according to a police supervisor's log. The document indicates that Jeffrey A. Matsui, the mayor's executive assistant, held discussions with the vendor, Duty Free Shoppers Ltd.

We all know how much Mayor Tom Bradley loves his job, even down to the smallest details. He attends so many ceremonies you'd think he was Prince Charles. If a friend of a friend opens a supermarket, the mayor will be there to cut the ribbon. New movie theaters, trade fairs, benefits, christenings, weddings and bar mitzvahs have been graced by mayoral visits.

Ernest Borgnine is not big here. Charles Bronson, Elizabeth Taylor? Yes, of course. Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis? Maybe. Those conclusions emerged from a survey of about a dozen Nagoyans who passed through their city's central park on Friday afternoon as a replica of Hollywood's Walk of Fame was unveiled.

Authorities released a Japanese city official who was arrested for alleged felony theft at Los Angeles International Airport last month after Mayor Tom Bradley contacted police about the incident, according to records and interviews. Yukio Umemura, chairman of the Nagoya City Assembly, was caught taking two Gucci wallets and a brown leather purse valued at $450 from an airport duty-free shop on April 14, police reports show.