| August 30, 2018 |
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Volume 6 Issue 29 |
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Spitzer Calls for Termination of Jail Phone Vendor after Eavesdropping Occurs
Spitzer Doesn’t Buy “Human Error” Excuse; Believes Enforcement Officials have Known for more than 60 Days |
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Supervisor Todd Spitzer has called for the termination of the Orange County Jail telephone contract with Global Tel Link (GTL) after they claim a “human error” resulted in the wrongful taping of 1,079 inmate phone calls over a three year period.
Spitzer questioned Sheriff Sandra Hutchens for withholding news of the crisis from the Board of Supervisors for at least two months during Tuesday’s Board meeting. Eavesdropping on phone calls between inmates and their attorneys – which is a felony – only came to light two weeks ago publically, but appears to have been known for months by officials, including the District Attorney.
Spitzer asked the Sheriff directly whether a defendant with pro per status, wherein the defendant is self-represented in a criminal case, should not have their calls recorded. Sheriff Hutches agreed such a recording would be improper.
“First we have a snitch scandal and now this. Depending on who listened to the calls, dozens of felonies may have been committed by jail personnel, compromising criminal cases,” Spitzer said. “Our judicial system in this county is in crisis. We desperately need an outside impartial investigation.”
The Board tasked the Office of Independent Review with looking into the matter and reporting back in 90 days. Spitzer supported the motion but demanded more immediate action in as soon as 30 days.
GTL said “human error” was to blame for the mistake, which happened because approximately 1,200 numbers were never uploaded to a “private” list. Of that number, 1,079 calls were recorded. Records indicate that 57 calls were then accessed a total of 70 times by Sheriff’s personnel, including two deputies who were involved in the illegal snitch operation. At least one call was downloaded to a CD and given to a police agency investigating that case.
Instead of the Sheriff bringing the matter to the Board, a defense attorney for Joshua Waring revealed the snafu in court while asking for a dismissal of charges. Waring is the son of a former “Real Housewives of Orange County” cast member and is charged with attempted murder. Evidence of the recordings was made clear during Waring’s preliminary hearings that his calls may have been recorded while he was in pro per status as late as November 2017. This raises serious concerns over whether there is a legitimate process in place to ensure defendants in pro per status are added to the “Do Not Record” listing.
GTL’s contract, worth an estimated $4.6 million per year, comes up for renewal in November. The company made a similar privacy violation mistake at a jail in Florida.
“Why on earth are taxpayers still funding this incompetence?” Spitzer asked. “I believe GTL violated their contract with malfeasance. The Board should take action to terminate them immediately.”
Spitzer stated he will bring forward an agenda item to a future Board of Supervisors meeting to fully discuss the termination of the GTL contract and to direct the Sheriff to seek other vendors to replace GTL. |
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| Tele-Town Hall: Preventing Voter Fraud |
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(L to R): Supervisor Todd Spitzer, Orange County Privacy Officer Linda Le, and Orange County Registrar of Voters Neal Kelley. |
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Preventing voter fraud is top of mind for election officials each election cycle, but after the 2016 election season, many voters are also wondering how their votes will be protected in the future. Supervisor Todd Spitzer brought together a panel of voting experts—Neal Kelley, Orange County Registrar of Voters; Linda Le, Orange County Privacy Officer, and a CISSP Cyber Intelligence Analyst at the Orange County Intelligence Assessment Center (not pictured)—to address voters’ concerns. Listen now to learn about this topic of both local and national importance at: http://www.ocgov.com/civicax/filebank/blobdload.aspx?BlobID=78863. You can also view a taping of the event on Supervisor Spitzer’s Facebook page, at https://www.facebook.com/SupervisorToddSpitzer/
videos/1013907825437705/.
Listen in and participate in Supervisor Spitzer’s next Tele Town Hall event by calling (855)-756-7520 extension 41657# on Thursday, September 13 at 5:30 pm for a conversation on fire awareness and prevention. |
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| Spitzer Leads Pledge at Black Chamber’s Banquet and Blues Dinner Show |
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Supervisor Spitzer (L) gives brief remarks on reverence of the flag before leading the crowd in the Pledge of Allegiance. |
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The Orange County Black Chamber of Commerce held its 27th Annual Banquet & Blues Dinner Show at the City National Grove of Anaheim. Supervisor Spitzer proudly led the Pledge of Allegiance, reiterating his pride for being affiliated with this organization focused on supporting and contributing to the general welfare and progress of the African American community through economic development.
“‘For liberty and justice for all…’ This group, perhaps more than any other I’m affiliated with, understands the significance of what those words mean,” Supervisor Spitzer told the crowd.
Congratulations to all the honorees who were recognized, and congratulations also to Bobby McDonald, the Chamber’s executive director, for his leadership in guiding the Black Chamber to be a “beacon of light” for business, education and veterans in Orange County. |
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| Cerro Villa Middle School Honored for Winning National Video Contest |
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Mike Cash, representing Elks Lodge 1475, presents the award for Best National Drug Awareness Video Contestto the Cerro Villa Middle School contest team and Principal Lisa Ogan. |
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Congratulations to Cerro Villa Middle School for winning the National Elks Lodge National Drug Awareness Video Contest in their category out of 1900 lodges across the country with their video Erase Your Mistakes. What an accomplishment!
Cerro Villa Middle School was honored during their first day of school assembly. |
Orange Elks Lodge 1475 presented the award to the students and their teacher. Supervisor Spitzer was represented at the ceremony and a certificate was presented on his behalf to this outstanding group of students.
Orange Unified School District Superintendent Dr. Gunn Marie Hansen; Orange City Councilmembers Mayor Pro Tem Mark Murphy, Fred Whitaker, and Mike Alvarez Orange City Councilman; Villa Park Councilmembers Mayor Robert Collacott, Bill Nelson, and Diana Fascenelli were all in attendance to celebrate the occasion.
Watch Cerro Villa Middle School’s winning video at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7aCgaX_p38U. |
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| Tustin Library Restoration Complete! |
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The Tustin Library is open and ready to once again serve the community. |
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Tustin City Council members (L to R): Allen Bernstein, Chuck Puckett, Letitia Clark, Mayor Al Murray, Mayor Pro Tem Beckie Gomez, and County Librarian Helen Fried. |
The City of Tustin and OC Public Libraries celebrated the grand reopening of the Tustin Library, which underwent an extensive $1.2 million restoration project, on Wednesday, August 22.
The Tustin Library is a very busy branch and is much loved by the community.
Many thanks to Helen Fried, the head of the County library system, for her leadership on this project and her 15 years of service. She will be retiring next month. |
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| Enderle Center Classic Car Show |
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Enderle Center Classic Car Show |
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This 1953 Mercury Montclair was the winner of the Al Enderle's Choice Award. |
Classic car enthusiasts from across the county came out to Tustin for the 20th Annual Enderle Center Classic Car Show on Sunday, August 19. Hundreds of people came out to enjoy the fabulous weather and the superb classic cars.
Third District resident Robert Huntington’s car, a 1953 Mercury Montclair, won the “Al Enderle’s Choice Award” at the 20th annual Enderle Center Classic Car Show on Aug. 19. He said he purchased the car because he and his wife dated in a car just like this one when they were students at Occidental College—quite the romantic gesture! |
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| County of Orange to Host Free, Family-Friendly Career Expo and Open House |
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Are you in search of a rewarding career? Come to the County of Orange Career Expo and Open House where you can explore career opportunities, like being a nurse, electrician, investigator, park ranger and more!
The Career Expo and Open House will take place from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, September 29, at Irvine Ranch Historic Park (13042 Old Myford Rd., Irvine, California 92692).
All are welcome to attend this free, family-friendly event, which will highlight current County of Orange job openings and career opportunities as well as the different services and programs the County offers to the community. Attendees will have the chance to enjoy fun activities for kids, live music and a food truck, plus interactive exhibits such as an OC Animal Care booth featuring animals, a demonstration by the Sheriff’s Department Search and Rescue team, and more!
For more information about job openings and career opportunities with the County, visit http://www.ocgov.com/gov/hr. |
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| County of Orange Career Expo and Open House: Saturday, September 29 |
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Click on the image above to view a PDF version. |
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| Pet of the Week |
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Click on the image above to view a PDF version. |
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| Events Around the District |
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Anaheim
Toddler Stories and Playtime
Monday, September 10, all day
East Anaheim Branch Library, 8201 East Santa Ana Canyon Road
Preschool Storytime
Friday, September 7, 10:30 am – 11:00 am
Anaheim Canyon Hills, 400 Scout Trail
Irvine
Senior Fitness Expo 2018
Saturday, August 31, 9:00 am—12:00 pm
William Woollett Jr. Aquatics Center, 4601 Walnut Ave.
Orange County Great Park Farmers Market
Sunday, September 2, 10:00 am—2:00 pm
Orange County Great Park, 6950 Marine Way
Orange
Bilingual Storytime/Cuenta Cuentos
Thursday, September 6, 10:30 am—11:00 am
Library Main Community Room, 407 E. Chapman Ave.
Make and Take Spa
Monday, September 10, 6:30 pm—7:30 pm
Library Main Community Room, 407 E. Chapman Ave.
Silverado
Toddler Storytime
Thursday, September 6, 11:00 am — 11:30 am
Library of the Canyons, 7531 East Santiago Canyon Rd.
Tustin
Farmers Market
Wednesday, September 5, 9:00 am—1:00 pm
El Camino Real and West 3rd Street
Family Sunset Storytime
Wednesday, September 5, 5:00 pm—5:45 pm
Tustin Library, 345 E. Main Street
Villa Park
Book Chat
Wednesday, September 19, 10:00 am – 11:00 am
Villa Park Library, 17865 Santiago Blvd.
Yorba Linda
Pagama-rama!
Wednesday, September 5, 7:00 pm — 7:45 pm
Yorba Linda Public Library, 18181 Imperial Highway
Sunday Concerts: Chamber Music, Anna Marie Arai, violin, Hillary Smith Cello, Rosalind Wong piano
Sunday, September 2, 1:30 pm
Richard Nixon Library and Museum, 18001 Yorba Linda Blvd.
For questions or comments regarding Spitzer’s E-Newsletter
please contact the Supervisor's office staff at: (714) 834-3330 or Montana.Sudul@ocgov.com
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