Voice of OC (https://voiceofoc.org/tag/orange-county-district-attorneys-office/)
Former District Attorney Tony Rackauckas demoted his Chief of Staff Susan Kang Schroeder, along with at least several other people, on his way out of the office in an attempt to ensure they had jobs, but Schroeder resigned Jan. 14, according to DA Todd Spitzer.
The year-end meeting featured goodbyes to supervisors Todd Spitzer and Shawn Nelson, criticism of the all supervisors over the deaths of more than 200 homeless people this year, and questions from the incoming DA about wiretapping and alleged conflicts of interest related to a contractor hired by the outgoing district attorney and illegal surveillance of elected officials by a police union’s law firm.
At least three more OC sheriff officials knew in 2016 and 2017 of illegally recorded telephone calls between jail inmates and their attorneys, in addition to a sheriff investigator’s knowledge in 2015 of such recordings, according to evidence presented Wednesday in Superior Court.
Prosecutors say Paulette Chaffee, who ran for Fullerton City Council this year and is married to incoming county Supervisor Doug Chaffee, stole campaign signs that labeled her a “carpetbagger.” If convicted, she faces up to a year in county jail.
The closely-watched race pits the DA against his former heir apparent, in a face-off years in the making.
In a break with their usual practice, the three supervisors who approved the ordinance did it without a cost estimate or funding identified to pay for the county staff time and outreach.
In the days leading up to Danny Pham’s death, jail staff placed him with a man who police say confessed about two months earlier to murdering a homeless man.
A joint task force between the Orange County District Attorney’s office and federal law enforcement agencies aimed at cracking down on local political corruption fell apart last year, after years of festering distrust between local and federal officials, according to an investigation by the Los Angeles Times.
“This was a campaign mailer, plain and simple,” said Supervisor Todd Spitzer. He and supervisors Shawn Nelson and Lisa Bartlett criticized Supervisor Michelle Steel’s handling of the invitations, which featured herself and District Attorney Tony Rackauckas and were sent to 16,000 voters at county taxpayer expense, even though the event only could handle 50 people.
Only 50 people could attend the event, prompting one ethics expert to say the mailers appear to be “more about blanketing people with an electoral mailer than actually meeting people.”