Grand jury investigating ‘corrupt misconduct’ in Riverside County human resources

The Riverside County Grand Jury is investigating “corrupt misconduct” inside the government's Human Resources Department and has accused county officials of attempting to “impede” the investigation, according to public court documents that offer a rare peek into a secret government probe.

County officials responded by saying the grand jury investigation is not as serious as it appears, and stems from a separate HR investigation that “might have inadvertently” received confidential grand jury information.

Ray Smith, a spokesman for the county government, said the grand jury is not investigating corruption in the county government, even if jurors say in court documents that they are.

Those court documents are using boilerplate legal language, Smith claimed.

“In this case, the word ‘corruption’ does not imply malfeasance or improper acts on the part of county officials,” Smith said in an email statement, adding later: “We believe the grand jury’s use of the term is simply a reference to the state statute and the powers of the grand jury.”

The civil grand jury is a unique feature of California law that serves as a watchdog of county governments. Composed of 19 jurors chosen each year, the grand jury investigates government operations, then publishes reports on findings of waste, inefficiency and corruption. Grand jury investigations are normally confidential, but this particular probe was revealed when county attorneys challenged two of the grand jury’s subpoenas in court, lifting the veil on the secret proceeding.

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That challenge was filed in December, and in the three months since then, the resulting court case has become a duel between different sectors of the Riverside County government, each which has powerful authority to investigate county employees with strict confidentiality. Now both the grand jury and human resources are investigating aspect of each other, then claiming that the other agency is attempting to inappropriately breach their confidentiality, court documents state.

“The grand jury comes before this court in the middle of an ongoing investigation involving potential specific wrongdoing by the county …” wrote Sara Lipchak, grand jury foreperson, in court documents filed earlier this year.

“The grand jury is investigating claims that county employees directly impeded upon the grand jury’s investigative process and directly interviewed grand jurors about their investigations and decision making.”

The county has a dramatically different view of what happened.

Smith, the county spokesman, said in an email statement that the dispute began when the government’s Human Resources Department launched a personnel investigation into a grand jury secretary – a county employee – after being forwarded several complaints about her conduct. The county then hired an outside investigator, who began interviewing former grand jurors about the secretary’s behavior, but no one was ever investigating the actual grand juror, Smith said.

These interviews are what the grand jury referred to as “corrupt” in their court filings, Smith said.

“ … It appears that the grand jury used that word to describe concerns that the personnel investigator might have inadvertently received confidential grand jury information while interviewing former grand jurors,” Smith said in an email. “Riverside County does not believe that to be the case and is cooperating with the grand jury investigation, and with the District Attorney’s office, which serves as the grand jury’s counsel.”

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While Smith said the county is “cooperating,” it is still fighting the grand jury subpoenas.

The jury has subpoenaed two county employees – Human Resource Director Michael Stock and the independent investigator, Gary Wedge – asking for all records from the personnel investigation into grand jury staff.

County Attorney Kelly Moran responded with a court motion asking a Riverside judge to limit the subpoenas so that they don’t apply to any records from the human resources investigation, which is exactly what the grand jury was seeking in the first place.

Moran said these personnel documents are strictly confidential, so the grand jury can only access them if they are investigating “alleged crimes, willful misconduct or corruption by a public employee.”

In a response argument, the grand jury said that is exactly what they are doing.

“This is not simply an open-ended pursuit solely based on curiosity,” Lipchak, the foreperson, wrote in court records. “The Grand Jury is investigating specific wrongdoing and misconduct by the county.”

Stock, 61, resigned last week after less than five years as HR director, according to his office. He his salary was $307,000.

Smith said Stock’s resignation was “a bit abrupt” but had “nothing to do” with the grand jury investigation. Stock “responded to a personal calling” by taking a job as administrator of his church, Smith said.

Lipchak, the grand jury foreperson, declined to comment because jurors are forbidden by law from discussing their proceedings. Moran, the county attorney, did not respond to requests for comment.

Public Safety Reporter Brett Kelman can be reached at 760 778 4642 orbrett.kelman@desertsun.com. You can follow him on Twitter at @TDSbrettkelman.