Orange County Supervisors may soon be discussing publicly whether to grant themselves subpoena power to investigate corruption.
Frustration keeps building inside the county hall of administration with every public audit that comes out about the 2024 Andrew Do scandal – which revolved around the former supervisor steering COVID relief contracts to family, connected vendors and ultimately himself in a bribery scheme that landed him a five-year prison sentence.
The most recent audit report was scathing – pointing to clear problems with how a host of county executives – like former Health Care Agency Director Dr. Clayton Chou – managed public contracts and vendors during the pandemic.
[Read: Audit Reveals More Questionable Spending Under OC Supervisor Imprisoned for Corruption]
That has two county supervisors – Republican Janet Nguyen and Democrat Vicente Sarmiento – asking hard questions, increasingly in public session during recent public meetings.
Nguyen and Sarmiento are both frustrated that there hasn’t been more accountability in terms of additional investigations beyond Do.
“The County has been investigating Andrew Do for two years now and it still feels like there’s much to learn,” said Nguyen in response to questions about her public calls for more investigation, including granting the board of supervisors subpoena power.
“I don’t want this dragging out for a decade,” said Nguyen, adding, “taxpayers deserve action.”
Supervisor Nguyen is exactly right.
Her frustration is also backed up by Voice of OC reporting that detailed in real time several years ago that county supervisors ran a risk in avoiding launching their own investigations – unlike Anaheim did in the wake of the city hall corruption scandal over Angel Stadium a few years back.
[Read: Santana: Can Orange County Supervisors Confront Corruption Legacy?]
Orange County Supervisors instead opted for audits, which have taken years to complete but have since pointed out a series of bad actors and questionable contract oversight.
Ironically, it was a different bipartisan coalition years back – Republican Don Wagner and Democrat Katrina Foley – that resisted calls for more county-led investigations into the Do scandal, preferring to rely on federal prosecutors and county lawsuits for discovery and ultimately, accountability.
Wagner said the Do scandal was the product of a corrupt politician, warning against overreaction from one scandal.
Foley, meanwhile, said at the time that launching an investigation could complicate the county’s ongoing lawsuits, which would ultimately serve as the best tool for discovery in the scandal.
Yet all these years later, federal officials don’t seem to be going beyond the Do prosecution. And there’s not much publicly known about progress in the county’s lawsuits against Do and others.
Meanwhile, when the City of Anaheim contracted with the JL Group for an investigative look at city hall in the wake of the stadium scandal, they had a public report within a year.
[Read: Anaheim’s Own Look at City Hall Finds Disneyland Resort Businesses Improperly Steer Policymaking]
Now, in the wake of scathing audits from the Weaver Group about the contracting culture at the county, Nguyen seemingly has an ally in Sarmiento, who has routinely advocated for a more robust investigation.
Nguyen – a state senator when the Do scandal broke – came onto the board of supervisors after the November 2024 election.
“The audit findings have demonstrated the value of independent review in identifying weaknesses and bringing potential misconduct to light,” Sarmiento said in response to questions about the impact of the audit on his thinking about the scandal.
“Now it is our responsibility to act.,” Sarmeinto added.
“I share the frustration expressed by Supervisor Nguyen that we have not pursued every avenue to recover the taxpayer dollars from entities and individuals identified in the most recent audit findings.”
Frustration could soon transform into change, with subpoena powers increasingly on the supervisors’ agenda.
“While I’m grateful the County hasn’t dropped our quest to get reimbursed,” Nguyen said about getting COVID dollars back, she wants to see justice served, noting “what these people did appears to be criminal and we should see prosecutions.
“I’m calling on the DA to take a serious look at these cases. I’ll assist in any way I can which includes drafting subpoenas for bank records. I’ve asked the County Counsel to look into granting the Board this power,” she said.
Sarmiento is seemingly on board.
“We owe it to our residents to follow the facts and use every appropriate tool available to hold those responsible accountable,” he said.
“I support the Board coming together to pursue all available avenues, including referrals to law enforcement, independent investigations, and civil actions, where warranted, to recover improperly obtained public funds and ensure that taxpayers are made whole.”
Norberto Santana, Jr. is the Voice of OC Publisher and Editor-in-Chief. He can be reached at nsantana@voiceofoc.org.
