County Prepares for Investigation into Snitch Scandal

The Orange County Board of Supervisors today directed District Attorney Tony Rackauckas and Sheriff Sandra Hutchens to respond to reform recommendations from an independent committee on the use of jailhouse informants.

The supervisors also voted to instruct authorities not to purge any records pertaining to the use of jailhouse snitches.

Board Chairman Todd Spitzer, making the announcement of the decisions made behind closed doors, said the panel also wants to know what extra costs may be required to implement the actions recommended in the Informant Policies and Practices Evaluation Committee’s report, which was released publicly last week.

Rackauckas met with the supervisors in the closed session and has “agreed to fully cooperate” with the requests made by the board, Spitzer said.

The supervisors also assured employees of the District Attorney’s Office not to fear retaliation for identifying issues on the job. The committee observed in its report that many D.A.’s employees said they declined to pass on bad news because it was either ignored or could affect their career.

Spitzer noted there was a “palpable hesitation identified in the report on the part of some OCDA personnel to bring problematic information to District Attorney management.”

“We want to assure them that this board does not tolerate retaliation” and that “if they are contacted by any law enforcement pertaining to a law enforcement investigation that they should cooperate fully without fear” that cooperation will lead to any punishment, he said.

If any officials feel they have a legal requirement to destroy any documents, they now “need written permission of county counsel, human relations and the CEO’s office,” Spitzer said. “This would ensure compliance with any legal-hold directive and ensure older records are not inadvertently destroyed.”

The committee’s chairman, Robert Gerard, told the supervisors that he did not believe there was any criminal wrongdoing as a result of the use of the jailhouse informants. The issue was raised by Assistant Public Defender Scott Sanders, who alleged a conspiracy violating the rights of his client, Scott Dekraai, the worst mass killer in the county’s history.

Responding to a question from Supervisor Michelle Steel about whether there was a “criminal conspiracy,” Gerard said: “I don’t want to speak for the entire committee, but ... as a licensed attorney of the state and officer of the court... my answer would be no.”

Gerard said his committee was “given unfettered access” to the District Attorney’s Office.

“Every document we asked for was produced to us,” Gerard said.

The committee, nevertheless, noted it did not have subpoena power and recommended having another law enforcement agency investigate the claims. In response, Rackauckas formally asked the U.S. Attorney General to investigate his office.

Gerard said that recommendation was made because “it was our conclusion that as part of earning the trust of the public that we should throw that out there... Without hesitation when asked the question, (officials from the District Attorney’s Office) welcome such an investigation because they were confident there was no intentional misconduct.”

Gerard said it was possible federal prosecutors could reach a “different result... But we have no reason to believe there would be a different conclusion.”

In a news conference last week, Rackauckas said he also did not believe there was any illegal conduct in the use of jailhouse snitches and he chalked up the problems to poor management.

Sanders’ allegations, which included moving snitches into disciplinary isolation so they could illegally pump other inmates for information, prompted Orange County Superior Court Judge Thomas Goethals to boot Rackauckas’ office from prosecuting Dekraai in the death penalty phase. That ruling is under appeal.

City News Service