BRIEFLY.

Gangster shot, hospitalized

VAN NUYS -- A known gang member was shot Wednesday evening and taken to a local hospital in critical condition, the Los Angeles Police Department said.

The Latino man in his mid-20s was shot just before 7 p.m. near Sherman Way and Lennox Avenue, LAPD spokesman Jason Lee said.

-- Daily News

Bonner to head state agency

Dale Bonner, a Los Angeles resident and former city ethics commissioner, has been tapped to head the state's Business, Transportation and Housing Agency.

Bonner, 41, has been a partner in Epstein, Becker & Green, a law firm specializing in government contracts and health care law, since 2002.

Previously, he was commissioner for the state Department of Corporations and a deputy secretary in the Business, Transportation and Housing Agency.

-- Daily News

75 evacuated in toxics scare

GLENDALE -- An office building was evacuated Wednesday after workers complained of respiratory problems, fire officials said.

A hazardous-materials unit was sent to the offices of Public Storage, Inc. at 701 Western Ave. about 11:45 a.m., said Jim Frawley, a Glendale Fire Department spokesman.

At least 75 people were evacuated.

-- Daily News

FBI searching for fraud suspect

The FBI is looking for a Glendale man suspected of opening a medical clinic in Pomona and posing as a doctor to receive Medicare insurance payments fraudulently, authorities said Wednesday.

Betros Garabet is also suspected of paying illegal cash kickbacks to Natasha Sherrill Walker, 36, of Los Angeles and Terry Lee Hill, 47, of San Bernardino and others to bring Medicare patients from Los Angeles, Riverside and San Bernardino counties for unnecessary treatment and services, authorities said.

After a grand jury investigation, Walker and Green were arrested Wednesday and, along with Garabet, face seven counts of health fraud, carrying a maximum statutory penalty of 10 years in federal prison.

-- Daily News

Slaying victim wasn't in gang

NORTH HOLLYWOOD -- A 17-year-old boy shot and killed in late January by an alleged gang member was not in a gang, police said Wednesday.

Guillermo Lopez was shot about 7 p.m. Jan. 28 as he walked with friends near the intersection of Saticoy Street and Ben Avenue.

Anyone with information on the killing can call North Hollywood detectives at [phone] or, after business hours, [phone].

-- Daily News

Man, 55, jumps from overpass

BRENTWOOD -- A man jumped off a San Diego Freeway overpass near Getty Center Drive on Wednesday in an apparent suicide attempt, authorities said.

The 55-year old man jumped about 5 p.m., landing on Sepulveda Boulevard just north of Getty Center.

An off-duty FBI agent tried to stop the man from jumping.

"An FBI agent was on his way home and he stopped to see if he could help," said Laura Eimiller, an FBI spokeswoman. "He saw this man in distress."

The man was reportedly taken to an area hospital in critical condition.

-- Daily News