Latest news with #OrangeCountyBoardofSupervisors
Epoch Times
4 hours ago
- Politics
- Epoch Times
Former California County Supervisor Gets 5 Years in Prison for Bribery, Misusing COVID Funds
A former Southern California county supervisor was sentenced June 9 to five years in federal prison for accepting $550,000 in bribes and steering more than $10 million in COVID-19 relief funds to an organization affiliated with his daughter. Andrew Hoang Do, 62, who was elected to the Orange County Board of Supervisors in 2015, resigned in October 2024 as part of an agreement to plead guilty to a federal charge of conspiracy to commit bribery.
Los Angeles Times
30-04-2025
- Los Angeles Times
Orange County crime victims call for changes in laws
Orange County District Attorney Todd Spitzer and crime victims Tuesday held a rally calling on state lawmakers to tighten up loopholes they say will allow for violent criminals to earn early release from prison. The theme of the office's annual crime victims rally was 're-victimization,' as victims and their loved ones worry that convicts they thought would never get out could still get a pass. Orange County Board of Supervisors Chairman Doug Chaffee told those gathered outside the offices for prosecutors and sheriff's deputies that the county will 'stand up for victims every step of the way ... even as laws change and challenges arise.' Irvine Police Chief Michael Kent decried 'flaws in our system' regarding 'current parole and re-sentencing laws.' He said victims were experiencing 'the painful reality of re-victimization. The justice you thought was served is being reconsidered.' State legislators have changed murder laws, eliminating a theory of liability for anyone associated with a killing being eligible for murder convictions no matter their level of involvement. Now prosecutors must show a more direct involvement in carrying out a murder. Since lawmakers made the change retroactive, many convicts have petitioned for reconsideration and have been able to gain freedom. 'It's a re-opening of wounds you worked so hard to heal,' Kent said. 'You should never have to fight for the justice you already earned.' Jacki Chalabian Jernigan, whose sister Dr. Jeanine Rose Chalabian was killed Oct. 10, 1997 by her estranged husband, Hratch Baliozian, detailed how she lost her struggle to keep the defendant behind bars. She noted that when he was sentenced to 35 years to life in prison in 1999 the judge said the defendant's last breath should be taken behind bars. Baliozian reached out to his children during the COVID-19 pandemic for help getting out of prison. She said he was denied parole in recent years because he did not complete some courses and had not shown any remorse. But instead of waiting another three years for a parole hearing, he was allowed to try again in a year and a half because he took the courses and was released, she said. Jernigan appealed for a full parole board to reconsider in September, but the decision was not overturned, she said. She was also unable to get a restraining order against him. 'I still do not know where he is,' she said. 'With the internet he can find all of our addresses but we can't know his. It's terrible. This is wrong.' ' ... Pre-meditated murder is just that,' Jernigan continued. 'This level of evil should never be released ... I pray this broken system can be improved.' Susan Montemayor Gutierrez, whose husband David Monetemayor was kidnapped and killed in a plot conceived by his sister in Buena Park on Oct. 2, 2002, bemoaned how one of the victim's convicted killers has been released and his sister is appealing to have her sentence reconsidered under the new state law. Three of Montemayor's killers have been condemned to death and two were sentenced to life in prison without parole. Gerardo Lopez's case was sent to juvenile court and he was eventually released at the border and allowed to 'self-deport,' she said. Deborah Perna, 68, is appealing to have her conviction reconsidered. 'David's sister solicited the murder,' she said. 'She had full understanding of what she was doing.' Montemayor Gutierrez said a hearing will be held in Orange County in the next couple of months. 'She will be trying to downplay her role in the murder,' she said. 'I don't think she will ever ... accept responsibility for her role in the murder.' She said she was hopeful the petition will be denied, but added that might be 'naive.' The mother of an 8-year-old boy sexually assaulted by Matthew Zakrzewski, 36, who was sentenced in November 2023 to 707 years to life in prison for molesting 16 boys and exposing a 17th to child pornography, criticized a loophole in the law that allows for the early release of some inmates who reach the age of 50 and have served more than 20 years in prison. Zakrzewski was eligible for parole in May 2039, according to the state Department of Corrections. If he is granted parole, it is likely prosecutors would seek to have him committed to a state mental health hospital as a sexually violent predator. Spitzer praised the boy's mother, who appealed along with prosecutor Robert Mestman, for lawmakers to close the loophole. Spitzer was impressed the proposal got out of a public safety committee. The county's top prosecutor said he was 'quite frankly blown away' by the testimonials from crime victims Tuesday. Spitzer said he was encouraged by the passage of Prop. 36, which allows for increased punishment for recidivist drug and theft convicts. 'It's up to us,' he said. 'We have the power, the ability, the momentum.'
Los Angeles Times
22-04-2025
- Politics
- Los Angeles Times
O.C. Supervisors urge DOJ to reassess Andrew Do's plea deal
The Orange County Board of Supervisors is asking the U.S. Attorney's Office and the U.S. Department of Justice to review and reassess former Supervisor Andrew Do's potential sentence two months ahead of his next scheduled court date. In October, Do admitted guilt in steering more than $10 million in federal pandemic relief funds through a nonprofit connected to his daughter, Rhiannon, for personal gain. He received more than $550,000 in bribes from the funds intended to provide meals to elderly Little Saigon residents during the pandemic's early days. Do pleaded guilty to a single conspiracy charge and faces a maximum of five years in federal prison when he goes before a judge on June 9. Prior to that, supervisors passed a resolution on Tuesday that called the potential sentencing one 'that fails to reflect the full scope of his self-dealing and corruption.' Supervisor Janet Nguyen, who won election to fill Do's vacated seat, helped spearhead the effort earlier this month. But supervisors deadlocked on the original resolution presented during the April 8 Board of Supervisors meeting and asked county counsel for guidance. A revised resolution brought back on Tuesday found more political support as it struck references to the plea deal as 'rushed,' adding language alleging misconduct by Do in having received privileged emails between supervisors and county counsel related to plea negotiations and other confidential matters after he resigned. Supervisor Vicente Sarmiento, who wanted county counsel to file an amicus brief and a victim impact statement in the case, spoke in favor of the resolution. 'It is an irregular path that we're taking, but I think these are instances that shock the conscience,' he said. 'These are instances that are outrageous.' In a statement provided after the meeting, Paul Meyer, an attorney for Andrew Do called the resolution 'reprehensible' and 'a blatant attempt to assert political influence in a federal matter.' The resolution, in making its case, cited stiffer sentences for other public officials convicted of corruption and bribery, including former Los Angeles Deputy Mayor Raymond Chan, who received a 12-year sentence last year for accepting more than $750,000 in bribes. Supervisor Don Wagner, the lone vote against the resolution, took issue with the cases presented in it as cherry-picked and called back to his time in the State Legislature when former state Sen. Ron Calderon got 42 months in prison for accepting more than $150,000 in bribes. 'There are cases where elected officials convicted or pleading to crimes similar to this get less,' he said. 'How come that's not in our resolution? We're only looking for the ones where somebody gets more than Supervisor Do. It isn't a fair comparison.' Nguyen limited her comments during the meeting, but thanked representatives of the Vietnamese American community who came out in support of the resolution. Phat Bui, a former Garden Grove councilman, shared a letter from the Vietnamese American Federation of Southern California, where he serves as president, when speaking before supervisors. 'Former supervisor Andrew Do is a lawyer [and] husband of a judge,' Bui said. 'He should know the law. The crime that he committed is so severe that a five-year plea deal is not suitable.' Wagner pushed back against the email controversy in suggesting what kind of conversations Do had with his attorney prior to the county being informed of the correspondences cannot be known. 'All we know is that at some point, supervisor Do contacts his lawyer and says, 'I'm getting these emails,'' he said. 'The district court judge can inquire of the lawyers, and to the extent he can get an answer without breaching attorney-client privilege, he can do it. We cannot.' Wagner found himself in the minority. Board Chairman Doug Chaffee stated his belief that an amicus brief and victim statement remain as future possibilities. Until then, the resolution would speak for the county, as it passed 4-1. 'We are a victim and this is a statement from the victim,' Chaffee said of the resolution. 'Our money was taken and misspent. We do speak for those who were victimized in the community as well.'
Yahoo
19-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Erroneous election reminders sent to thousands of California voters
Thousands of California residents received an automated reminder on Tuesday that election day is next week — except for most voters, it isn't. The erroneous messages sent by email to Los Angeles County and Orange County voters arrived with a subject line that read "One Week Left to Return Your Ballot," and told voters that "is the last day for your ballot to be mailed and postmarked," omitting the day. Reminders sent by text message said: "Drop your ballot at a nearby drop box or voting location by 8 pm on." Elections officials said the incomplete messages seem to have originated with BallotTrax, the software that sends automated messages to voters about the status of their mail ballots. The Denver-based company has worked with the California Secretary of State since 2020. Steve Olsen, the president of BallotTrax, said that the automated reminders should have gone out to about 100,000 voters in two legislative districts that include parts of Los Angeles, Orange, Kern and Tulare counties. Special primary elections are being held in those districts next week. "Due to a geo-targeting error, the reminder went out to many other voters," Olsen said in an email. He said the company is still investigating and will send a retraction as soon as they determine which voters received the messages in error. The Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder's office said that "nearly all" voters in L.A. County who subscribe to BallotTrax updates received the erroneous messages. A representative for California Secretary of State Shirley Weber did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Voters in the San Gabriel Valley, Santa Monica and San Fernando Valley reported receiving messages intended for voters in state Senate District 36, which spans coastal Orange County, Little Saigon and portions of southern L.A. County. That district has a primary election Feb. 25 to replace former state Sen. Janet Nguyen, who resigned in November after winning a seat on the Orange County Board of Supervisors. In the Central Valley, voters in Tulare and Kern counties will cast ballots next week to fill the state Assembly vacancy left by Bakersfield Republican Vince Fong, who was elected last year to the U.S. House of Representatives. Get the L.A. Times Politics newsletter. Deeply reported insights into legislation, politics and policy from Sacramento, Washington and beyond, in your inbox twice per week. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
Los Angeles Times
19-02-2025
- Politics
- Los Angeles Times
Erroneous election reminders sent to thousands of California voters
Thousands of California residents received an automated reminder on Tuesday that election day is next week — except for most voters, it isn't. The erroneous messages sent by email to Los Angeles County and Orange County voters arrived with a subject line that read 'One Week Left to Return Your Ballot,' and told voters that 'is the last day for your ballot to be mailed and postmarked,' omitting the day. Reminders sent by text message said: 'Drop your ballot at a nearby drop box or voting location by 8 pm on.' Elections officials said the incomplete messages seem to have originated with BallotTrax, the software that sends automated messages to voters about the status of their mail ballots. The Denver-based company has worked with the California Secretary of State since 2020. Steve Olsen, the president of BallotTrax, said that the automated reminders should have gone out to about 100,000 voters in two legislative districts that include parts of Los Angeles, Orange, Kern and Tulare counties. Special primary elections are being held in those districts next week. 'Due to a geo-targeting error, the reminder went out to many other voters,' Olsen said in an email. He said the company is still investigating and will send a retraction as soon as they determine which voters received the messages in error. The Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder's office said that 'nearly all' voters in L.A. County who subscribe to BallotTrax updates received the erroneous messages. A representative for California Secretary of State Shirley Weber did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Voters in the San Gabriel Valley, Santa Monica and San Fernando Valley reported receiving messages intended for voters in state Senate District 36, which spans coastal Orange County, Little Saigon and portions of southern L.A. County. That district has a primary election Feb. 25 to replace former state Sen. Janet Nguyen, who resigned in November after winning a seat on the Orange County Board of Supervisors. In the Central Valley, voters in Tulare and Kern counties will cast ballots next week to fill the state Assembly vacancy left by Bakersfield Republican Vince Fong, who was elected last year to the U.S. House of Representatives.
