Status uncertain for 2 put on leave

Orange County officials intensified this week an investigation into a contract to renovate the county treasurer’s building, with two architectural project managers put on leave while an allegedly falsified document is checked out.

County Treasurer Chriss Street, himself the subject of several investigations, initially asked for the renovations and also signed off on the document, but he has said the Resources and Development Management Department handled the $18,000 contract and he merely signed what was presented to him.

The document in question is a June 22 memo written by Clark Shen, a resources department manager, and signed by Antonio “Epoy” Pascual, an architecture and engineering project manager, and two other employees. Pascual and Shen were placed on paid leave this week.

In a Friday letter to county supervisors, Orange County Employees Assn. General Manager Nick Berardino criticized the decision to take those employees off the job while taking no action against Street, whom Berardino described as “the source of the controversy.” The association represents county workers, including Pascual. The association does not represent managers like Shen.

Officials have said Street is under investigation by the Orange County District Attorney for the architectural contract granted to Irvine firm Ware Malcomb and a property-tax adjustment made for Samsung Korean Church in La Habra.

He is reportedly also being investigated by the U.S. Department of Labor, the FBI and federal prosecutors, and he is involved in private lawsuits over a corporate bankruptcy trust he once managed.

County Supervisor John Moorlach, a past supporter of Street, and his chief of staff Mario Mainero began questioning the June 22 memo in late August, and Moorlach pushed to have supervisors strip Street of control over county investments; but the board chose Tuesday to postpone the issue until October, after hearing that the investment pool is healthy.

As an elected official, Street can’t be put on leave.

“How do you strip them of their duties while you investigate this, while Mr. Street is allowed to stay and not be stripped of his duties?” Berardino said. “The big guys skate, the little guys get put out.”

Street’s office declined to comment Friday.

County officials have refused to discuss the investigation, but questions raised so far include exactly when, or if, an evaluation of architects occurred, and the extent of Street’s involvement in the process. Here are some key dates and events in the issue, according to county documents and public statements.

 The June 22 memo states Ware Malcomb was ranked highest among three architectural firms whose statements of qualification were evaluated by county employees on April 12. Wayne C. Siu, who heads one of the listed firms, said he never submitted a statement of qualifications for the project, but didn’t consider that unusual because he is on a list of pre-qualified firms. No statements of qualification for this project have been made available to supervisors or the media.

 The earliest proposal from Ware Malcomb appears to be dated April 19, so it’s unclear what criteria were used to evaluate the firm on April 12. An e-mail from Street’s office to Ware Malcomb asking for a proposal in order to “push forward on this project” is dated April 3.

 As to the apparently conflicting dates, Assistant Treasurer Robin Russell told supervisors that resources department head Bryan Speegle said, “It was most probably a typographical error on the part of RDMD [the Resources and Development Management Department].” Speegle did not return several calls for comment and would not speak with a reporter waiting outside his office Thursday.

Berardino has called for supervisors to discuss the issue Tuesday, but it’s unclear whether they’ll wait until the county investigation wraps up before taking action.

The board is scheduled to revisit the matter Oct. 16.