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OC Supervisor Andrew Do resigns, to plead guilty to bribery charge
VOL. 12,
NO. 194
State board again finds Los Padrinos Juvenile Hall unsuitable By Joe Taglieri joet@beaconmedianews.com
By Joe Taglieri joet@beaconmedianews.com
| Photo courtesy of Los Padrinos Juvenile Hall/Instagram
Andrew Do speaks at an Orange County Board of Supervisors meeting in 2023. | Photo courtesy of Orange County
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ndrew Do has agreed to vacate his seat on the Orange County Board of Supervisors and plead guilty to a bribery charge, federal prosecutors announced Tuesday. Do will plead guilty to one felony count of conspiracy to commit bribery concerning programs receiving federal funds, according to the U.S. Justice Department. He accepted over $550,000 in exchange for directing more than $10 million in COVID-19 relief funding to a charity connected with one of his daughters. He is expected to make his first court appearance later this month in Santa Ana, prosecutors said. He faces a maximum sentence of five years in federal prison. "We are thankful for the thorough and careful investi-
gation carried out by federal law enforcement officials," OC Board of Supervisors Chairman Don Wagner said in a statement. "Orange County residents have demanded answers and accountability. So has the board, taking several steps to address contracting and oversight practices. This indictment only speaks to the federal criminal investigation. The county remains committed to continuing its civil lawsuits in order to hold all responsible parties accountable and to recover misused public funds." As part of his plea agreement, Do admitted that in exchange for more than $550,000 in bribes beginning in 2020, he voted in favor of and directed millions of dollars in COVID-related funds to Viet America Society, a nonprofit organization
affiliated with his daughter Rhiannon Do, according to the Justice Department. The District 1 supervisor directed and worked with other Orange County employees to approve contracts with and payments to VAS. In the plea agreement the 62-year-old Do admitted that his actions were corrupt and abused his position of trust as a county supervisor, prosecutors said. “By putting his own interests over those of his constituents, the defendant sold his high office and betrayed the public’s trust,” United States Attorney Martin Estrada said in a statement. “Even worse, the money he misappropriated and accepted as bribe payments was taken from those most in need — older See Andrew Do Page 32
adults and disabled residents. Our community deserved much better. Corruption has no place in our politics and my office will continue to hold accountable officials who cheat the public.” OC District Attorney Todd Spitzer called Do "the fox in the hen house personified" for looting COVID funds. “While millions of Americans were dying from COVID19, Orange County Supervisor Andrew Do was ... raiding millions in federal pandemic relief funds and orchestrating the money intended to feed elderly and ailing residents to instead fill the pockets of insiders, himself and his loved ones all while portraying a public persona of a hometown hero guiding his constituents through the uncertainty and
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state oversight board on Monday said insufficient staffing at Los Padrinos Juvenile Hall in Downey makes the facility unsuitable to house youth detainees. The Board of State and Community Corrections rejected the Los Angeles County Probation Department's plan to address staffing shortages, and the BSCC threatened to close the detention facility if the county is not in compliance by Dec. 12. That would entail relocating the approximately 300 youth currently at Los Padrinos. The BSCC rejected the Probation Department's "Corrective Action Plan" to increase staffing "in part, because we determined that the CAP did not adequately outline how the Department plans to correct the issue of noncompliance, nor did it provide reasonable See Juvenile Hall Page 02
timeframes for resolution of the staffing deficiencies," according to the board's letter notifying the county of the unsuitability finding. Board members found that “there are an adequate number of personnel sufficient to carry out the overall facility operation and its programming, to provide for safety and security of youth and staff, and meet established standards and regulations.” The Probation Department issued a prepared statement Tuesday responding to the board's decision: "We are disappointed with the BSCC’s decision today to find the County’s Los Padrinos Juvenile Hall unsuitable. The County remains fully committed to resolving all the deficiencies identified in its Corrective Action Plan. The Probation Department has, in fact, increased staffing levels at the facility by actively