Saturday, July 14, 2012

Shit hits fan (Oh my!)

Brian Probolsky
Saddleback College Foundation
     Norberto Santana of the Voice of OC reports that things may finally be unraveling down at the County. The story’s pretty juicy and it even sports a McGuffin!

Bustamante Scandal Sends Another Top Official Packing (Voice of OC)

     Indications are that Orange County Deputy CEO Alisa Drakodaidis is the latest high-level official heading out the door in the wake of the Carlos Bustamante sex crimes scandal.
     And Drakodaidis has left behind a scathing letter that could rock the foundation of the county government.
     On Monday, Orange County Public Works Director Jess Carbajal was fired with cause for failing in his role as a supervisor to Bustamante, who stands accused by District Attorney Tony Rackauckas of committing 12 felonies against at least seven women over an eight-year period while a manager at Public Works.
. . .
Pat Bates
     Drakodaidis’ letter levels a host of accusations against members of the county Board of Supervisors for interfering with hiring and contracts as well as conducting questionable campaign finance practices.
     It also accuses Rackauckas of using the Bustamante scandal as revenge against CEO Tom Mauk for firing Public Administrator John Williams earlier this year over what officials have described as incompetence.
     County officials have declined to immediately comply with a Voice of OC public records request for the attorney’s letter, which has been distributed to the supervisors.
     County lawyers are reviewing the Voice of OC request “but are not certain when their review will be completed,” a county spokesman said.
     Terry Francke … says there’s no doubt that the county bureaucracy and supervisors are simply stalling. He said the public has an immediate right to see that letter.
. . .
     According to several sources that have read the letter, Drakodaidis takes direct aim at several county supervisors for interfering in county contract administration.

     She specifically criticizes County Supervisor Pat Bates for placing one of her aides, Brian Probolsky (also a board member of the Moulton Niguel Water District) in a position inside the Orange County Community Resources Department. She also criticizes Bates over campaign finance issues, the sources say. [Note: both Pat Bates and Brian Probolsky are on the Saddleback Foundation's "Advisory Council."]
     And she alleges that Rackauckas’ investigators went hard on her during the Bustamante investigation because Rackauckas is angry at CEO Tom Mauk over the removal of Public Adminstrator John Williams in the wake of the 2010 scandal that erupted after Rackauckas fired Deputy District Attorney Todd Spitzer.
John Williams
     Drakodaidis has been on the hot seat since supervisors reviewed a controversial audit of the Human Resources Department last year that found top executives were giving themselves questionable raises. Drakodaidis had her salary cut by 13 percent following the audit, and sources said supervisors had been questioning her performance ever since.
     Drakodaidis also was the deputy CEO in charge of Public Works, where Carbajal and Bustamante worked.
     Sources indicate that within weeks the leaders of a special county investigation, spearheaded by a host of former Public Works officials, will present a critical report on how the department was managed….

SEE ALSO Bustamante's ex-supervisor in O.C. public works department is fired (LA Times, July 11)

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Is the Probolsky mentioned any relation to the oily bohnuk formerly of the IVC Foundation? Another connection, through the former Director of te Foundation, courtesy of one Tom Fuentes?

Roy Bauer said...

Yes, the Probolsky Bros.

Roy's obituary in LA Times and Register: "we were lucky to have you while we did"

  This ran in the Sunday December 24, 2023 edition of the Los Angeles Times and the Orange County Register : July 14, 1955 - November 20, 2...