Voice of OC (https://voiceofoc.org/tag/santana-editorial-jailhouse-snitch-scandal/)
District Attorney Todd Spitzer is calling on federal authorities to end the DOJ probe into use of jailhouse snitches in Orange County and instead make a deal to institute reforms.
Thanks to an outpouring of reader support, we exceeded our $75,000 fundraising goal this year and our newsroom enters 2019 on a solid fiscal footing, with renewed vigor to keep Orange County informed and alert on the key issues impacting quality of life from the public dais this next year.
Orange County’s Sheriff Sandra Hutchens’ credibility has been destroyed by Superior Court Judge Thomas Goethals. Meanwhile, District Attorney Tony Rackauckas stands accused of political corruption by his own senior investigators. Regional fire service also is in full crisis mode after executives at the Orange County Fire Authority apparently ousted Fire Chief Jeff Bowman against the will of rank and file firefighters.
With many insiders scratching their heads about the recent grand jury report on jailhouse snitches, focus is increasingly on the upcoming race for DA in 2018. Amidst lingering questions about current DA Tony Rackauckas’ leadership and the judgment of his challenger, Supervisor Todd Spitzer, a third option has arisen out of Chapman University’s law school, Professor Mario Mainero.
Despite a critical grand jury report on the horizon and two sets of ongoing lawsuits from Sheriff’s Special Officers and Deputy Sheriff’s rank and file arguing her department is politicized and mismanaged, OC Sheriff Sandra Hutchens keeps playing it cool.
Whether it’s before the Republican Orange County Board of Supervisors or the Democratic Santa Ana City Council, the public safety debate at the local level is one characterized by a toxic mix of unchecked spending and secrecy.
Jeff Lalloway’s departure as Supervisor Todd Spitzer’s chief of staff is another window into the dysfunction that is Orange County government. It’s fitting that it comes as more records violations come to light in the jailhouse snitch case.
Three central countywide oversight agencies — the Office of Independent Review, the ethics commission and the performance auditor — are all funded but remain vacant.
The Orange County supervisors are in the process of choosing a new public defender. Will they appoint someone who’ll stay aggressive on the jailhouse snitch cases? Or someone who’ll take the heat off District Attorney Tony Rackauckas?
The recent escape from the Santa Ana Jail and the scant offerings for homeless people at the bus terminal show that hard questions should be in store for Sheriff Sandra Hutchens and OC Community Services head Karen Roper.
