30 Jan Gascon’s Actions Cost Taxpayers Another $5 Million
“Gascon is not only the most sued District Attorney by his own prosecutors, but now the County has had to pay out $5 million because Gascon is more interested in headlines than the evidence,” said DA candidate Nathan Hochman. “I will ground my decisions in the evidence and the law, not a political agenda, and protect public safety and taxpayer dollars with which the public has entrusted me.”
Original article at California Globe:
LA DA Gascon’s Improper, Unethical, or Just Plain Stupid Actions Cost Taxpayers Another $5 Million
By Thomas Buckley, January 30, 2024
Maybe there’s a good reason Los Angeles District Attorney George Gascon has never (as an attorney) set foot in a courtroom – it could be because he always loses.
Last week, the LA County Board of Supervisors decided to pay someone Gascon charged and then quickly uncharged $5 million to settle an only four-month old lawsuit.
Considering how long these things typically take, the idea that the settlement was reached to get it out of the way before the March primary cannot be dismissed entirely.
But this is not the first time Gascon’s improper, unethical, or just plain stupid actions have cost the county.
The taxpayers have already had to pay $2.3 million to a pair of deputy district attorneys – Shawn Randolph and Richard Doyle (who was ordered to drop charges against a trio of defendants who attempted to derail a train – really – during an anti-police protest) for Gascon’s on the job retaliation.
Gascon has also lost in court for improperly imposing blanket policy “directives” involving strikes and enhancements and such on the office.
Beyond losing lawsuits, Gascon has also failed to get available funds. Filled out the paperwork and just didn’t get approved for the $2.7 million in anti-smash-and-grab robbery and other grants? Nah – Gascon’s office simply missed the filing deadlines.
“Gascon squandered an amount sufficient to provide a full scholarship for about 75 students to attend UCLA for four years including tuition, food, books, housing, and fees,” said John McKinney, a current deputy district attorney who is running to unseat Gascon in March.
As to last week’s settlement, it involved Eugene Yu and his election software company Konnech.
In October 2022, Gascon’s office charged Yu with stealing personal identifiable election worker information and storing it offshore in China – here’s Gascon’s original press release.
About six weeks later, the charges were dropped and the lead deputy district attorney on the case, Eric Neff, was placed on leave.