The meetings are for auto theft investigators, insurance company special investigation agents, vehicle leasing loss prevention agents, and other individuals involved in the investigation, recovery and prevention of vehicle thefts.  Investigators from in and out of Southern California attend the meetings to share information about current cases, suspects and auto theft trends.  The meetings also feature a guest speaker who gives training during the course of the training meeting / luncheon format.

The Training Meetings / Luncheons begin at 10 a.m. and go until about 2 p.m. Lunch is served about 11:30 a.m.  We would recommend coming about 9:30 a.m. to meet your peers and share coffee or tea. 

The next WSATI Training Meeting / Luncheon will take place on Thursday, September 16, 2010 at 10:00 a.m. at Euromasters Classic Cars, 18370 Pacific Street, Fountain Valley, CA 92708, 714-593-4911.

The guest speaker will be DMV Supervising Investigator Randy Vera.  He will give a presentation on dismantler yards.

This meeting will also feature a Santa Maria style barbecue lunch.

Directions:

From Long Beach: Merge onto I-405 S toward SAN DIEGO.  Take the EUCLID ST exit, EXIT 12.  Turn RIGHT onto ELLIS AVE.  Turn RIGHT onto PACIFIC.  18370 PACIFIC ST is on the RIGHT.

From San Bernardino: Merge onto CA-91 W toward LOS ANGELES.  Merge onto CA-55 S via EXIT 34 on the LEFT toward NEWPORT BEACH.  Merge onto I-405 N via EXIT 6A. Take the EUCLID ST/NEWHOPE ST exit, EXIT 12.  Turn RIGHT onto EUCLID ST.  Stay STRAIGHT to go onto ELLIS AVE.  Turn RIGHT onto PACIFIC ST.  18370 PACIFIC ST is on the RIGHT.

From San Diego: Merge onto I-405 N toward LONG BEACH. Take the EUCLID ST/NEWHOPE ST exit, EXIT 12. Turn RIGHT onto EUCLID ST.  Stay STRAIGHT to go onto ELLIS AVE.  Turn RIGHT onto PACIFIC ST.  18370 PACIFIC ST is on the RIGHT.

For a map to this location, please click here.

2010 WSATI Southern Chapter President John Bartolone (DMV Investigations) welcomed everyone to the meeting and the newest WSATI Southern Chapter venue.  John requested that Martha Jones (AAA Southern California) lead the group in the pledge of allegiance.

John thanked all those in attendance that had gone to the 39th Annual WSATI Training Seminar in San Diego.  He said that even though things did not even look like WSATI was going to "break even" a few weeks prior to the Seminar, there were a lot of late registrations and walk-in registrations, bringing the Seminar into the "black."  John said he hoped that chapter members would try to make the 2011 Seminar in Fresno a success as well.

John then introduced the WSATI Southern Chapter Presidents in attendance; Skip Davidson (1991), Dave Dempsey (1998), Gary Labb (2000), Bill Lovold (2001), and Jim Williams (2009).

John then introduced the Guest Speaker, San Bernardino Police / SANCATT Investigator Jeff Reeves, who gave an outstanding presentation on Honda/Acura Theft and Identification.  Jeff's PowerPoint and "show and tell" table were very well received by the meeting attendees.

WSATI Southern Chapter Treasurer Rob Manning announced during the break in Jeff's presentation that the original WSATI T-shirts from 2007 were being sold at "blow-out" prices.  What was left of the 2009 shirts were going at a good price as well.  Rob also showed the 2010 shirts, as well as the long sleeved version that was now available.  To see some of the available shirts, please go to WSATIWear.  Please contact Rob at his listed email address for current pricing on the older shirts.

Following Jeff's presentation, WSATI Southern Chapter Sergeant-at-Arms Tim Jackson (AAA Southern California) requested that everyone do self introductions.  Tim then invited everyone to go outside for the Santa Maria style BBQ.  The BBQ had been prepared by Jim Williams (Long Beach PD), Aristeed Powell (DMV Investigations), and Richard Knapp (Knapp Law Firm).  Tim said the raffle would follow lunch and if anyone needed any extra tickets to contact Bill Harris (Motozania.com) who was assisting at the meeting.

Tim asked if anyone had anything they wished to share and Gary Labb (Santa Ana PD/OCATT [retired]) spoke about an upcoming 40-hour POST ICI Vehicle Theft Investigations class that will be presented by San Jose State University at the Orange County Sheriff's Advanced Officers Training Facility on September 27 - October 1, 2010.  Information can be found on the SJSU Administration of Justice site.

Following lunch, WSATI Southern Chapter Sergeant-at-Arms Tim Jackson (AAA Southern California) conducted the raffle.  There were a lot of great raffle prizes.  Bill Lovold and Vic Valdez, both from AAA Southern California, assisted Tim with the raffle.  Again, it appeared that those who bought extra raffle tickets did the best.

Following the lunch, the meeting was adjourned by John Bartolone.  The next meeting will be on Thursday, September 16, 2010.

There were a lot of new faces that came to the meeting as well as several "old" members who had not been to the meetings in some time.  This meeting drew people from as far as Oxnard, San Diego, and Riverside.

Other 2010 WSATI Southern Chapter Officers in attendance were:

Vice President  Dave Petrelli (State Farm Insurance SIU - Retired) 
Treasurer Rob Manning (LASD/TRAP) 
Sergeant-At-Arms Tim Jackson (AAA Southern California SIU)
Associate Director Aristeed Powell (DMV Investigations - Artesia)
Past President Jim Williams (Long Beach Police)
Legal Counsel Richard Knapp (Knapp Law Firm, LLP)

Secretary Tim Glover (LASD/TRAP) and Associate Director Brian Yori (LAPD/TRAP) could not make it to the meeting.