“He’s got to go”

The OC Reg just posted more on the Street judgment:

Verdict: Street breached his fiduciary duty

…"He's got to go," said [Supervisor John] Moorlach, who was Street's predecessor for Orange County treasurer and endorsed him in 2006. "The taxpayers don't deserve this nonsense."

… The judge's decision comes a week before a filing deadline for candidates to challenge Street's reelection bid in the June election.

During a two-day trial, attorneys for the trust accused Street of wasting money on failed business ventures, delaying payments to creditors, and otherwise breaching his duty "in an effort to serve his own selfish ends."

[Judge] Neiter agreed in a 29-page ruling in which he questioned Street's credibility and used words like "absurd" and "inconceivable" to describe Street's actions and explanations.

"The overwhelming evidence at trial showed that the Defendant willfully engaged in self-dealing to advance his personal interest ahead of that of the Trust's beneficiaries," Neiter wrote.
. . .
The case hinged on Street's decision as trustee to buy two failing truck-trailer manufacturers. He bought the companies, American Trailer Inc. and Dorsey Trailers, in an attempt to build up the trust's one profitable operation, Mexican manufacturer Fruehauf de Mexico. Both companies ultimately collapsed after the trust poured millions of dollars into them.

Neiter rejected Street's argument that he should not be held liable for the decision because independent oversight groups – not him – approved the transactions.

The only plausible explanation for the purchases, Neiter wrote, is that Street "was attempting to create an operating company that would do business in the United States and Mexico that would go public and enable Street to earn substantial sums as its CEO and as a major shareholder. It was not to preserve Trust assets while pursuing their liquidation."
. . .
Court records showed that Street used the trust as his personal piggy bank, charging stays at resort hotels, a $750 dinner at Spago, Botox treatments and a traffic citation for his Ferrari.
. . .
So far, two candidates are challenging Street for the county treasurer's post: Huntington Beach's elected treasurer, Shari Freidenrich and Pat Desmond, a long-time employee of the county assessor.

"It's just a sad day in Orange County," Freidenrich said. "Taxpayers and our elected leaders need a treasurer who has an unblemished record of protecting public funds and meeting the position's fiduciary duty."

Even if Street is reelected in June, Moorlach said he'd ask his fellow supervisors to consider stripping Street of his investment authority. No other county supervisor returned calls for comment….