Detectives arrest Brookdale Inn owner

Brookdale Inn and Spa owner Sanjiv Kakkar was arrested on multiple charges this week by detectives with the Santa Cruz County District Attorney’s Office.
Kakkar, 48, was arrested at 1:20 p.m. Monday, Oct. 19, on suspicion of not having workers compensation insurance, not paying an employee’s medical bill after he was hurt on the job and paying workers with bad checks, according to the district attorney’s office.
He was released on $75,000 bail that evening.
Judge Paul Marigonda signed the $75,000 warrant, and Kakakar was taken in without incident, inspector Craig Tanaka said.
“The investigation is still ongoing,” Tanaka said. “There have been numerous complaints, and he knew there was an investigation going on.”
The inquiry that led to Kakkar’s arrest began about two months ago, Tanaka said. The investigation began after a worker was injured on the job and Kakkar refused to pay his medical bills.
Kakkar is also under investigation for a slew of other problems, including an August fire that burned rental apartments behind the lodge, the case of a guest who died in September after a fall on the property, and many unpaid bills, among other allegations.
Fire officials and the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives are both investigating the suspicious August blaze that burned 20 apartments and four cars, displacing 65 people.
Robin Carlson, 35, of Boulder Creek, died Sept. 26, just days after he fell into a construction hole near the lodge’s pool.
Former resident manager Dallas Shea said she was not surprised by Kakkar’s arrest.
“He deserves everything he gets,” Shea said.
Shea, an independent contractor along with her husband Randy, recalled several paydays when employees’ checks were missing and said she felt sorry for the young workers who relied on Kakkar to pay their rent.
“They always cried, broke,” Shea said. “We used to race to the bank when we got our paychecks.”
Kakkar terminated Shea and her husband’s contract in August after three months, saying he could not afford to pay for their management services.
Before his arrest, Kakkar gained local notoriety for mismanagement of the famous inn that was once a stop for the likes of legendary entertainer Marilyn Monroe and President Herbert Hoover.
Since buying the 119-room hotel in 2007, he has poured millions into restoration, including remodeling a wing and repainting the entire lodge.
But even as he set out to restore the lodge to its former glory days, problems with construction and employees accompanied the remodel.
Tanaka, the inspector on the case, asks anyone with complaints against Kakkar or the lodge to call him at 454-2400.
Problems pile up at the Inn
• Just after taking ownership in 2007, Brookdale Inn and Spa owner Sanjiv Kakkar was cited by the county’s Environmental Health Department for allowing uncovered garbage to accumulate behind the lodge.
• In July 2008, a backed-up pipe in the kitchen prompted a worker to pour cleaning fluid down a storm drain. The chemicals killed about 50 endangered steelhead trout in nearby Clear Creek.
• Kakkar was sued for $25,234.31 in November 2008 by the Ledyard Co., a Santa Cruz food service company. He has not paid the money, and the case remains open.
• Kakkar owes $25,000 in back property taxes, according to county records.
• According to county planning department files, Kakkar started building projects without permits and applied for them later. He also worked for months without a building contractor. Both circumstances violate state law.