Port of L.A. police chief indicted for corruption, tax evasion

Ronald Boyd is alleged to have a business interest in port security technology bought by L.A. port authority.    The Port of Los Angeles on Thursday said it put Police Chief Ronald Boyd on administrative leave after he was indicted by a federal grand jury on corruption and tax charges related to a scheme to sell a crime-reporting app to government authorities.
   The PortWatch app was to be sold to port authorities and a similar MetroWatch app to other types of agencies.
   According to accounts in the Daily Breeze and Los Angeles Times, the agreement was contingent on Boyd securing a contract for Portwatch with the Port of Los Angeles. The indictment says Boyd illegally met with city officials without disclosing his business ties to the social networking app and lied to the FBI about his activities. He also allegedly failed to report income from his security business.
   Boyd was appointed chief of port police in 2004 and in January was also made chief of emergency management.
   The Port of Los Angeles said Deputy Chief of Port Police Thomas Gazsi has assumed Boyd’s responsibilities and that it is fully cooperating in the investigation.