Friday, May 29, 2015

District Attorney Closes 60th Anniversary Investigation

INVESTIGATION COMPLETE
According to reliable sources, the Orange County District Attorney's Office has completed its investigation into the Costa Mesa 60th Anniversary Celebration that was held two years ago and ended under a cloud of suspicion of misuse of money, violation of city policies and procedures and other issues.

DA SAYS INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE OF CRIMINAL CHARGES
The OCDA has wrapped up its investigation and concluded there is insufficient evidence to prove any criminal activity beyond a reasonable doubt and will take no further action.  No determination of whether City policies or procedures were violated was made.

FORENSIC AUDIT ON COUNCIL AGENDA TUESDAY
However, the issue of a Forensic Audit of the 60th Anniversary Celebration is on the City Council agenda for Tuesday's meeting.  The question will be whether or not to solicit bids for such an audit, which may cost up to $25,000, depending on the complexity.  It will be very interesting to see if the council majority decides to stonewall any further investigation of this event by denying the use of a Forensic Audit.  Or, will they attempt to get this debacle behind us once and for all by spending twenty-five grand of CEO Tom Hatch's contingency fund for the audit.  It will be an interesting roll of the dice at the end of the agenda Tuesday night.

Labels: , , ,

7 Comments:

Anonymous Mike McNiff said...

My guess? 'Nothing to see here, move on.'

5/29/2015 01:16:00 PM  
Blogger Joe said...

I agree with that Mrs. Drain on the need for a forensic audit.

5/29/2015 01:55:00 PM  
Anonymous Where's My Coffee? said...

Did anyone really think T-Rac would indict his buddies? No surprise here. An INDEPENDENT audit is needed to determine that truth, not their friends.

5/29/2015 04:34:00 PM  
Anonymous Teresa Drain said...

Wow! What a co-inky-dink!

I am thankful that Katrina asked the staff for the proposal, this is the first time we have recived an actual cost estimate. Righeimer said he didn't want to spend $80,000-$100,000, so he should be happy with this estimate! The CEO has discretion over a $1M budget for just such a thing.

We need this independent forensic audit. It is not up to the DA to pay for this - that is why I ask the city. The DA was given the limited information provided by the analysis. After 2 years, we all know better.

5/29/2015 09:48:00 PM  
Blogger Honeyman said...

According to the quotes from Katrina in the Daily Pilot article, I don't see any way they vote to go forward with the forensic audit.

Add this to the long list of injustices to this city by it's "leaders".

5/30/2015 09:30:00 AM  
Anonymous Eleanor Egan said...

The Daily Pilot article's account of the D.A.'s letter made no mention of the forged signatures on documents authorizing expenditures. I guess that's not a crime any more?

5/30/2015 11:57:00 AM  
Anonymous Mr. Verbose said...

A little bird,with a yellow bill, landed on my window sill and says there will be no checking the bills, for the 60th's ills.

I was just blown away when I learned Mark Felt was "Deep Throat".

You just never can tell about people.

That means no audit, period.

Verbose

5/30/2015 02:57:00 PM  

Post a Comment

<< Home