“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….

Another of Tom Fuentes' corrupt pals goes down

This just in. OC Reg “watchdog” Jennifer Muir reports the decision of the judge in OC Treasurer Chriss Street’s fraud trial.

Guilty!

Street is one of Trustee Tom Fuentes’ corrupt pals. (As these old graphics indicate, Fuentes was Street's campaign advisor during the latter's last race.) Street has often come to SOCCCD board meetings, at Fuentes' request, to report on tax revenue (our district's funding is tied to local property taxes).

Judge: Chriss Street breached duty, engaged in self-dealing

A federal bankruptcy judge has found that Orange County Treasurer-Tax Collector Chriss Street committed fraud and breach of duty five years ago when he served as a trustee for a bankrupt truck-trailer company.

U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Richard M. Neiter ordered Street to pay more than $7 million in damages to Freuhauf Trailer Corp in the case. Freuehauf had asked for Street to pay $11.9 million in damages.

Street was the court-appointed trustee from 1998 through July 2005, before his election as treasurer.

Attorneys for the bankrupt Fruehauf accused Street of wasting money, delaying payments to creditors, and otherwise breaching his duty “in an effort to serve his own selfish ends.

“This is a case where a fiduciary lost sight of his mandate to liquidate trust assets for the benefit of the trust’s beneficiaries by engaging in unsuccessful business ventures, self-dealing, and violations of the liquidating trust agreement,” U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Richard M. Neiter wrote in his 29-page ruling.

“This conduct caused the trust to lose significant sums of money otherwise available for its beneficiaries and to delay their payment through seven years of the trustee’s tenure.”

Jennifer provides a link (here) to the judge's actual ruling. She'll provide more information later.

It has long been rumored that Trustee Dave Lang, who, five or so years ago, mysteriously reversed his long-standing opposition to administrator Raghu P. Mathur, covets the OC Treasurer/Tax Collector position. Well, we'll be watching.

Street's lawyer is Phil Greer. Guess what? Greer represented Mathur recently in his negotiations with the district concerning his resignation. He also represented Trustee John Williams when the latter faced the OC Board of Supervisors regarding the two scathing Grand Jury reports that outlined Williams' incompetence and improprieties.

But wait! Greer also represents four of the five Supes!

Isn't Orange County just a fabulous place?


Tom Fuentes loved to drag that corrupt rat bastard Mike Carona to Irvine Valley College events such as 911 ceremonies.

Carona put on a good show, what with prayer and tears and lots of Republicans wanting to get a picture taken with 'im.

California on the march

March on Everywhere! (Inside Higher Ed)

BERKELEY, CALIF. -- In an unprecedented day of national protest across all sectors of education, the epicenter proved to be this college town where the seeds of student activism were sown more than 40 years ago. (continued)

In a Day of Campus Protests, California Marchers Take to the Freeways (Chronicle of  Higher Ed)

Students and faculty members in California staged dozens of protests on Thursday, marching in major cities and attempting to blockade freeways in the broadest demonstration yet of anger against state budget cuts to the nation's largest public-university system. (continued)

California Students Protest Education Cuts (New York Times)

SACRAMENTO — Angered by increases in tuition and cuts in state financing, thousands of students, parents and faculty members protested across California on Thursday at colleges, universities and even elementary schools to plead for help with the state’s education crisis. (continued)