UPDATE: District Attorney Tony Rackauckas Monday quashed the release of a politically explosive letter sent to the Orange County Board of Supervisors by an attorney representing Deputy CEO Alisa Drakodaidis, who abruptly went on a medical leave in the wake of sex crimes charges against former county Public Works executive Carlos Bustamante, according to the 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,” according to the Voice of OC.
The bad news for the County of Orange? Drakadaidis is talking. She left behind an allegedly blistering letter that fingers members of the Board of Supervisors “for interfering with hiring and contracts as well as conducting questionable campaign finance practices.”
The Voice of OC also reported that “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 “joined the County in 2004 as the Chief Deputy Director of the Social Services Agency. She also held various positions with the County of Los Angeles for nearly fifteen years including serving as an Assistant Chief Administrative Officer and Executive Officer for the Probation Department responsible for Planning and Development and Administrative Services,” according to a County of Orange newsletter.
Her letter has not been released yet, but the Voice of OC is pressing the County CEO, Tom Mauk, to release it.
Supposedly Drakadiadis also went after Orange County District Attorney Tony Rackauckas, alleging that he went after former County of Orange middle manager Carlos Bustamante because he “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.”
Drakadiadis also allegedly went after “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.
So far Bustamante’s former boss, Jess Carbajal, has been fired and former Orange County HR director Carl Crown has retired. Now Drakadiadis is out too. Who knew that Bustamante’s arrest for various felony sex crimes and public theft could lead to the outing of God only knows how much corruption at the County of Orange?
If Bustamante himself starts singing, perhaps in return for a plea bargain, a lot of Orange County managers, including Mauk and his deputy, Rob Richardson (who also serves on the SAUSD School Board) could go down in flames.
I’m sure there were many promoted to Executive positions with the Supes strong recommendation.
Mark Denny, Supe Aide, former Pringle aide who pleaded guilty in 1996 for Fraud but now he is the Director of OC Parks.
Matt Harper, Supervisors aides, a Nguyen aide, who pleaded guilty to DUI and now works in OC Public Waste.
Who else? Probolosky hiring is another example of an overpaid political appointee
Add Jean Pasco to your list — after she was fired/retired from the LA Times when they forsook their Orange County coverage, Tom Daly grabbed her as the County “Archivist” — presumably she’s in charge of filing cabinets.
If there’s one (of hundreds) of things to change in OC government, it’s this crony hiring system that ensures one’s political pals end up with six-figure incomes (and gobs of health and retirement benefits) while they search for their next political opportunity and maintain their internal networks that their potential opposition can never match.
Even though the question is always asked, we never seem to be able to find out if these cush, make work positions are publicly or even internally posted for anyone to apply. I believe Harper, at least, even got his PR job hyping Garbage and Poop (isn’t Crap up to the cities as well as outsourced?) during a Mauk hiring freeze? Of course, Janet Nguyen got him placed in there as he once “worked” for her, so I’ll bet money a posting for a worthless, unneeded job wasn’t made.
Chris Norby’s worthless, scheming brother is another example of crony hiring. I believe he works for Cal Optima, or some other government healthcare scam.
Well, Norby’s COS dodged a bullet recently, which might well result in SQS taking that seat. Despite Greg Diamonds insistence that she will take “South of I-5” she may walk away when Ngyuen is exposed.
There is also, the wife of another notoriously “conservative” blogger, jokey not for a job, but for contract opportunities fro her corrupt husbands company.
It doesn’t end.
That must be Laura. I doubt that Todd would hire her on but he has only the public expense to lose and everything to gain with hiring her on.
My sources tell me Tom Daly hired a hippie by the name of Jeffrey Smith who failed all the recruitment requirements and Daly strong armed the imbecile into a position. A complaint went to Central HR under Carl Crown at the time and nothing was done to correct the situation. This guy has some serious anger management issues. Jeffrey punches the walls in his cubicles when he doesn’t get his way and uses profanity within earshot of customers yet no one says anything to the supervisors because they will be tagged as trouble makers instead of the agency looking into this ticking bomb at the Clerk-Recorder. Hope Daly takes all his trash with him if he wins the assembly. That includes Jean Pasco and hopefully Renee “I’ll stab your back to keep my job” Ramirez.
“District Attorney Tony Rackauckas Monday quashed the release of a politically explosive letter”…….. Hmmmmmm
A commenter at Voice of OC stated: “This case is going to take down even our corrupt D.A. – good news for Spitzer!”
I wonder, when this case is going to take down Santa Ana Police Chief/ City Manager Paul Walters and Mayor Miguel Pulido?