CHARGES SURPRISE COMMUNITY; PROPERTY MANAGER GAVE TO NUMEROUS CHARITIES.

Byline: Orith Goldberg Staff Writer

He lived the good life - hot rods, a spot on Santa Clarita's ``A'' list, a beautiful home, a wife and two kids.

Alfred John Durtschi seemed to have it all until earlier this year, when his world began to crash around him.

Durtschi, a 42-year-old property manager, was charged with 18 counts of insurance fraud, grand theft, filing false tax returns and tax evasion. Investigators with the state Department of Insurance say a year-long probe shows that Durtschi stole close to $500,000 from his employer and an insurance company.

Durtschi, of Saugus, pleaded not guilty to the charges on Nov. 3. He faces up to 12 years in prison if he is convicted. Contacted at his home, he refused to comment.

Community leaders who counted on Durtschi's generosity are stunned.

Jim Ventress, executive director of the Santa Clarita Valley Boys & Girls Club, remembered an emotional moment last Christmas when Durtschi, dressed as Santa Claus, distributed presents to the members.

``One of the kids, about 6 or 7 years old, broke out of line, went over and just started hugging Santa and said `I love you,' '' Ventress said. ``I think it touched everybody.''

The man known to friends as ``A.J.'' was dedicated to the community, truly caring for the charities he served, Ventress said.

``He was very good and patient with the kids and took time out with all of them,'' he said.

Indeed Durtschi has been ``very, very good to charities,'' said Pat Warford, manager of community resource development for the American Red Cross in Santa Clarita, another of his beneficiaries.

Durtschi also acted as a celebrity waiter, priming patrons with silly antics to help raise ``tips'' to donate to the American Heart Association, said Pat Willet, the association's executive director in the Santa Clarita and Antelope valleys.

Willet said she found the charges against Durtschi ``horribly shocking,'' adding that he was such a pleasant person to work with.

``I don't believe anything until it's proven because he is too nice a person,'' she said. ``There are people who are community-minded, but just aren't nice. He's nice.''

Suspicious invoices

The case against Durtschi stems from his $100,000-a-year position as executive vice president for Bartlein and Co. Inc., Managers of Real Estate, said Randall Hew, an investigator with the Department of Insurance.

Durtschi stands accused of stealing money from his employer and of defrauding an insurance company while overseeing earthquake reconstruction work at the Diamondhead condominium complex in Stevenson Ranch, Hew said.

Bartlein managed Diamondhead, with Durtschi as the company's liaison with the Diamondhead Homeowners' Association.

Company President Robert H. Bartlein was contacted in October 1998 by state insurance investigators, who said they had been alerted by State Farm Insurance Co. to suspicious landscaping and security invoices related to Diamondhead's $19 million reconstruction project.

In an interview with the Daily News, Bartlein said he confronted Durtschi, whom he had known for 20 years and had recruited from the company's Wisconsin office in 1986 to come to work in Newhall. Durtschi tearfully admitted to taking the money, according to Bartlein and investigators.

But Durtschi's attorney, Donald Etra, said his client is contesting the criminal charges.

Bartlein said Durtschi is on leave of absence until the case is resolved.

The state's yearlong probe included search warrants for Durtschi's Woodside Drive home, the family's 1994 GMC Suburban and a Newhall storage facility. According to court documents, investigators said they found fake invoices in the vehicle that were used to commit insurance fraud.

A search of Durtschi's home turned up notes detailing the family's financial records, including six vehicles registered to the family. Two were classic Fords - a 1932 and a 1947, court documents show.

Investigators also found a handwritten note stating: ``You have to account for the homeowners' missing money,'' documents say.

The search also revealed Durtschi's plan should he be arrested, according to court documents. Handwritten instructions to his wife, Linda, tell her to sell her car, the house and the a condominium the couple owns in Santa Clarita.

``We would liquidate every possible item to remain afloat,'' according to the notes, which are included in court files. ``If necessary, we will live out of motorhome, move out of state, look for new job.''

Filing for bankruptcy would be a final resort, the note stated.

Complicated whodunit

Hew said Durtschi had been receiving $5,500 a month for helping the Diamondhead Homeowners Association with the earthquake insurance claim, but Bartlein said he knew nothing about the stipend.

Investigators further discovered that approximately $210,000 from Bartlein and Co.'s corporate account and $250,000 from its trust account had been deposited into Durtschi's personal bank account, Hew said.

Bartlein told investigators that Durtschi said he spent all the money on various everyday expenses, including payments for his wife's medical bills. Durtschi told Bartlein that he had spent the money, investigators said.

Etra declined to comment on Linda Durtschi's medical condition.

When State Farm contacted authorities about suspicious invoices submitted on behalf of Diamondhead in mid-1998, investigators began working on the complicated whodunit, Hew said.

Search warrants were obtained for Santa Clarita-based Farnham Security Inc., Sunset Landscaping and A&W Builders, all companies hired as part of the Diamondhead reconstruction.

No other suspects

But after reviewing thousands of pages of documents, investigators found that evidence of misconduct pointed only to Durtschi, Hew said.

Investigators found invoices for security services that were never provided at Diamondhead, and padded expenses for landscaping services, all paid by State Farm.

Invoices totaling $108,781 were submitted on behalf of Farnham for the first four phases of the reconstruction project, a job the security company bid on but did not win, owner Dennis Farnham said.

Investigators also discovered a $61,000 discrepancy in invoices paid by State Farm and those filed at Sunset Landscaping.

Bartlein told investigators that after examining company records, he found that Durtschi accepted checks on behalf of the company, deposited them into an account for miscellaneous expenses and shifted them to a dummy account from which checks were drawn, according to documents filed as part of the charges against Durtschi.

On Feb. 24, Bartlein confronted Durtschi about the account and showed him copies of canceled checks. After some questioning from Bartlein, Durtschi left the office and returned in tears, documents said. Durtschi confessed to taking money from the company's trust and escrow accounts, investigators said.