First District Supervisor Andrew Do is expected to miss Tuesday’s OC Board of Supervisors meeting, Aug. 27, and a colleague considered one of his political allies announced Monday, Aug. 26, the supervisors will vote next month about whether he should be stripped of his assignments.
And, following a raid by federal agents on a North Tustin house owned by Do, Fifth District Supervisor Katrina Foley is calling on state Attorney General Rob Bonta to begin proceedings to remove Do from the board if he, in fact, doesn’t live in the northwest Orange County district he represents.
Do is responsible for directing millions of dollars through his district discretionary fund to Viet America Society for a nutrition gap program during the pandemic and to build a Vietnam War memorial. But the county, in a civil lawsuit, is accusing Viet America Society and some of its leaders of instead misusing the public dollars for personal gain.
Do is not named in the county’s lawsuit and federal investigators have not commented on what their probe is looking into. He has been criticized for not disclosing his daughter, Rhiannon, worked with Viet America Society at the time, though that is not a violation of county policy or state law.
Several questions have arisen in the last few days since the lawsuit was announced and federal investigators raided properties the lawsuit alleges were purchased with the COVID relief funding, including properties purchased by Rhiannon Do and Viet America Society president Peter Pham.
Can Do effectively represent his district amid calls for his resignation? Also, why is the county demanding a return of funding for the memorial when progress has been made on its construction?
Do’s future on the board
Third District Supervisor Don Wagner announced Monday, Aug. 26, he is using his “prerogative as chairman” to put on the Sept. 10 agenda the question of removing Do from his assignments, adding, “I expect unanimous approval when the matter comes forward early next month.”
Wagner and Do have typically been aligned ideologically the last few years.
There have been several calls, including from supervisors Foley and Vicente Sarmiento, for Do to resign from his seat on the Board of Supervisors, which Wagner acknowledged in his statement, saying, “I expect him to seriously consider his future on this elected body, especially for the sake of the citizens of the First District.”
Federal agents raided the home of OC Supervisor Andrew Do and his wife, Orange County Superior Court Assistant Presiding Judge Cheri Pham, in North Tustin on Aug. 22, 2024.(Photo by Destiny Torres, Orange County Register/SCNG)
“He is entitled to the full protections of the law as these cases move forward, and I urge against a rush to judgment in these matters, as I do in all legal proceedings,” Wagner added. “I have the utmost confidence in our legal system and will accept the findings of this investigation and the rulings of the courts.”
Foley trailed Sarmiento by several days in calling for Do’s resignation, saying in a statement on Monday, “Supervisor Andrew Do shattered public trust and each day his presence on the Board of Supervisors delegitimizes the office in which we sit. Andrew Do must resign,” Foley said.
“His continued receipt of taxpayer compensation and benefits is unacceptable,” she added, “especially when he is unable to attend board meetings or do the minimum requirements of the job.”
Do, according to Transparent California, received more than $260,000 a year including pay and benefits.
On Friday, a county spokesperson said in a text, “We understand that Supervisor Do does not plan on attending Tuesday’s board meeting.” It was his turn to give the Pledge of Allegiance to start the meeting.
It is unclear if Do’s absence will be a one-time occurrence or if he will also be sitting out of future board meetings. Do, through his chief of staff, declined to comment.
“After the FBI raided his personal residence in District 3, we must question whether he even resides in District 1, as required by election law,” Foley went on to say Monday. “Supervisor Andrew Do’s historic betrayal of public trust and his failure to uphold the law leaves us with no option but to request the Attorney General start necessary proceedings to remove Andrew from this elected position.”
The Attorney General’s office did not respond to a request for comment.
“It is my hope that Supervisor Do will put the people of the county ahead of himself and step down,” Sarmiento said. “The board cannot remove him from office, per state law. But if there are grounds for removal, revealed in the current investigation, then that is something that should move forward.”
Fourth District Supervisor Doug Chaffee said the lawsuits and investigations should continue without “disruption or intervention” of other supervisors.
“The board is not judge or jury and it is our constitutional duty to uphold the principle of separation of powers,” Chaffee said. “This case is now in the hands of the courts. We must let the legal system take its course in a fair and unbiased manner.”
Fred Smoller, a political science professor at Chapman University, said the fraud investigation and Do’s absence at board meetings make it hard for Do to represent his constituents. Smoller added his voice to the chorus of people calling for Do to resign.
“These are positions of public trust. And the public, I think, has lost its trust,” said Smoller, a longtime watcher of county politics. “He’s just not going to be able to do the job well with this … cloud of suspicion over him and his family.”
Longtime county watchdog Shirley Grindle wasn’t so sure that Do should resign now, since he is scheduled to term out at the end of the year.
“If he had two or three years left, I would say, ‘Yeah, maybe it would be good,’” said Grindle, who pushed for the voter-approved county Ethics Commission. “(But) he’s only got a few more months left. It’s stupid to kick him out. Andrew Do is a master of walking right up to the line, but not crossing it.”
A memorial in question
The lawsuit filed by the county on Aug. 15 argues the nonprofit was granted $1 million for the design, construction and maintenance of a Veteran War memorial at Mile Square Park in Fountain Valley but has failed to complete the monument. The money for the contract came from Supervisor Do’s discretionary funds.
Surrounded by chain link fence, the Vietnam War Memorial in Mile Square Regional Park remains unfinished in Fountain Valley on Thursday, Aug. 22, 2024. Orange County is accusing the nonprofit Viet America Society of failing to complete the $1 million war memorial and diverting funds intended for the memorial into personal real estate ventures. (Photo by Leonard Ortiz, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Now at Mile Square Park, an unfinished monument is blocked off by a chain link fence and covered with tarps. The granite slabs, located at the edge of a golf course and next to one of the park’s lakes, have stencils where the engraving and art would go.
Mark Rosen, Viet America Society’s lawyer, said the monument is supposed to mirror the Vietnam War memorial in Washington, D.C., and that Viet America Society is working in conjunction with OC Parks on the project.
County spokesperson Molly Nichelson said OC Parks has an encroachment permit, granting permission for Viet America Society to work in the area, and added that the project is expected to be completed before the end of the year.
The term of the contract for the memorial grant began Oct. 5 and was to end on June 30 or “when all the parties’ obligations under this agreement are fully satisfied, whichever occurs earlier.”
Pham, president of Viet America Society, told The Orange County Register on Thursday the monument is mostly done. Rosen said $150,000 in unused funds were refunded to the county.
“From what I’ve seen, the structure is up. The granite is all there. It needs to have the artwork put on it,” Rosen said. “There’s supposed to be a grand opening this fall. I think the memorial is right on time, and I think it’s just something (the county) threw in there.”
Rosen said the monument is among several allegations that the county got wrong in its lawsuit, including the assertions the nonprofit did not provide the meals it was contracted to for the elderly or disabled people and that Pham is married and purchased a property with a woman he did not know.
Covered by tarps and surrounded by chain link fence, the Vietnam War Memorial in Mile Square Regional Park remains unfinished in Fountain Valley on Thursday, Aug. 22, 2024. Orange County is accusing the nonprofit Viet America Society of failing to complete the $1 million war memorial and diverting funds intended for the memorial into personal real estate ventures. (Photo by Leonard Ortiz, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Andrew Do has retained attorney Paul S. Meyer, a highly respected former homicide prosecutor who represented former Anaheim Mayor Harry Sidhu. Sidhu pleaded guilty in September 2023 to federal corruption charges in an investigation that stemmed in part from the attempted sale of Angel Stadium.
Do’s daughter, Rhiannon, is represented by David Wiechert, another former prosecutor described as aggressive and creative.
“Rhiannon is a hard-working, law-abiding and honest young woman,” Wiechert said. “(Fellow attorney) Jessica Munk and I look forward to showing the government the error of their ways.”
One of Wiechert’s more famous clients was former Orange County treasurer-tax collector Robert Citron.
Once praised as a financial genius, Citron made wrong-way bets on interest rates that led to Orange County’s historic bankruptcy in 1994. The investment pool Citron directed lost $1.64 billion and Citron was charged with multiple felonies. He pleaded guilty to six felony counts, including lying to investors and falsifying the county’s books.
Pham has retained attorney H. Dean Steward, who for 12 years led the federal public defender’s office in Orange County. In his private practice, Steward represented adult star Stormy Daniels’ ex-attorney, Michael Avenatti, against federal accusations of stealing millions of dollars from clients. Avenatti ultimately pleaded guilty to fraud and was sentenced to 14 years.
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