Bruce Pardo: The Santa Claus Shooter
By: Delani R. Bartlette
Tags: Mass Shootings, Murder, Christmas, Gun Violence, True Crime

Bruce J. Pardo

’Twas the night before Christmas, 2008. The Ortegas — Joseph, 80, and Alice, 70 — were hosting their annual Christmas party at their Covena, California, home, about a half hour east of Los Angeles. There were 25 people in attendance, including Joseph and Alice’s five grown children and their spouses and children. One of their daughters, 43-year-old Sylvia, had recently moved back in with them after a bitter divorce.

Sylvia had married Bruce Pardo in January 2006. Bruce was a volunteer usher at Holy Redeemer Catholic Church, and everyone who knew him described him as outgoing and friendly, someone who liked to be the center of attention. But it wasn’t long after the nuptials that Sylvia began to see her new husband wasn’t the man she thought he was.

It started, as most marital problems do, with money troubles. Not that the couple was having trouble making ends meet; Bruce had a six-figure job as an electrical engineer at a military contractor in Van Nuys. The two had purchased a large home in Montrose, and Bruce owned a Cadillac Escalade, a Hummer, and a boat he kept on Lake Havasu.

Sylvia, who was a single mom of three when they got married, worked as a secretary at a flower nursery and only made a fraction of what Bruce did. Yet Bruce refused to open a joint bank account with her or help with any of her children’s expenses, insisting she take care of them on her own.

By the end of their first year of marriage, he had become cold, distant, and miserly with money, leading to frequent arguments.

Unbeknownst to Sylvia, FBI profilers would later discover an incident that shed light on just how selfish Bruce could be. Back in 1989, he had gotten engaged to a coworker, and the two had planned a large wedding and expensive honeymoon in Tahiti. At the time, Bruce didn’t have a lot of money and was living with his mother. So his fiancée dipped into her savings to fund the reception and put down deposits on the honeymoon.

On their wedding day, Bruce never showed up. She would later learn he had withdrawn all the money from their joint bank account and used it to fund a trip to Palm Springs, Florida.

By late 2007, however, Sylvia learned something even more disturbing about her husband. Apparently, Bruce had a child from a previous relationship that he never disclosed to Sylvia. That was bad enough, though perhaps forgivable. But what she found out next shocked her conscience.

About five years earlier, Bruce had been watching his then-13-month-old son while the boy’s mother, Elena Lucano, went shopping. While Bruce watched TV, the toddler fell into the pool; when Elena came home, Bruce was cradling the unconscious boy in his arms, screaming uncontrollably.

It took hours of resuscitation and a helicopter flight to another hospital to stabilize the boy’s condition. During this time, Bruce never left his son’s side.

A few weeks later, doctors determined that the boy had suffered severe brain damage from lack of oxygen. He was left a paraplegic who would need constant care for the rest of his life. Upon learning this, Bruce broke off the relationship with Elena and left his son.

Although she never suspected Bruce of any wrongdoing, Elena needed help to pay the almost $350,000 in medical bills that had accumulated. Because Bruce refused to help her pay them, she was forced to sue his homeowner’s insurance. The settlement money — less than a third of what the bills were — was used to pay down some of the medical bills and establish a trust to help pay the ongoing expenses of caring for their son.

After the claim was settled, Bruce cut off all contact with both Elena and their son. He never paid a penny in child support, but he did continue to illegally declare the boy as his dependent on his taxes.

When Sylvia learned of this, she could not forgive such callousness — and didn’t want to be held liable for the tax fraud he was committing by claiming the boy as a dependent. They began sleeping in separate beds, and in March of 2008, they separated.

Bruce was livid. He fought her over everything, no matter how petty. Sylvia had asked Bruce if she could continue to live in their home until the end of the school year so her daughter could finish Kindergarten. But while she and her daughter were away at a relative’s birthday party, Bruce tossed all their belongings out onto the driveway. So Sylvia filed for divorce.

In June 2008, Bruce was ordered to pay her more than $1,700 a month in alimony. His first alimony check bounced; he stopped payment on the second check.

It was also in June that Bruce bought a 9mm Sig Sauer semi-automatic handgun.

Then, only a month later, Bruce was fired from his job. Apparently, he had been fraudulently billing clients for hours he did not work. Unsurprisingly, he was denied unemployment benefits.

Now that he had no income, the judge waived his alimony obligation. But he was still $31,000 in credit card debt and had a $2,700 monthly mortgage payment.

His debts didn’t stop him from buying another 9mm Sig Sauer Aug. 8.

A month later — a wait required by California law — he purchased a third 9mm Sig Sauer. The same day, he ordered a custom-made Santa suit from a local tailor.

In October, after the mandated 30 days, he bought a fourth 9mm Sig Sauer. That same month, he visited a friend in Iowa, where he purchased 16 magazines that held 18 rounds each — more than is legally allowed in California.

Bruce’s friend said he had seemed in good spirits, though he had confessed that Sylvia was “taking him to the cleaners” in the divorce.

On Nov. 13, he purchased a fifth 9mm Sig Sauer and picked up the Santa suit.

On Dec. 18, 2008, the divorce Bruce so hated was finalized. He was able to keep the house, but was ordered to pay Sylvia $10,000; she was allowed to keep her expensive engagement ring and the family dog.