Water Board Is Awash in Soap Opera Over Tapes

Their spat could be dismissed as a minor lovers’ quarrel if it didn’t involve finger-pointing and a possible scandal at an obscure High Desert water agency.

Conni Su Herrington, a legal secretary who lives in Flowood, Miss., alleges that she was swindled by a member of the Mojave Water Agency’s board of directors, whom she met on a singles website.

Richard Hall, an elected board member since 1999, hired her to transcribe one of the board’s tape-recorded meetings, and then refused to pay up, Herrington alleged in a claim for payment she filed with the agency.

“He kept telling me to ‘trust’ him, ‘trust’ him -- I did -- and I shouldn’t have,” she wrote.

The seven-member board, based in Apple Valley, has watched events unfold like a soap opera, including Herrington’s accusation that Hall told her he “is multimillionaire” and that he would buy her a house if she would come to California.

Hall called Herrington’s allegations “bogus,” and said they were part of a political smear campaign. Hall said he needed transcripts, which he planned to pay for himself, for a complaint filed with the state attorney general’s office over the appointment of another water board member.

Water board members are expected to vote today on whether the agency should compensate Herrington for the remainder of her bill for 35.5 hours of transcribing.

Board member Kimberly Cox said she planned to ask for Hall’s resignation.

“He has totally violated the public trust” and shown “unspeakably bad judgment,” Cox said.

Hall said he had paid Herrington in full and never insinuated that her work was for the agency. The controversy stems from a fight over the 2004 appointment of Art Bishop to the water board, Hall said.

Cal Camara, general manager of the Hesperia parks district, filed a complaint with the attorney general’s office about the appointment. He said the water agency appointed him to the post and then rescinded it in favor of Bishop.

Hall, a parks district board member, supported Camara joining the water agency. He said rival water board members were using Herrington’s claim to smear him.

Director Jim Ventura said the incident had tarnished the agency’s image and raised an ethical dilemma, since Hall acted alone in soliciting Herrington’s help.

Hall describes himself as a paralegal, inventor and churchgoer who worked for 17 years in the aerospace industry.

He said he met Herrington about a year ago on an online dating site, which neither party identified. Soon after, Hall said he lent his new friend more than $1,500 so she could pay her mortgage.

Herrington began to repay Hall, but still was indebted to him in January when he asked her to transcribe cassette recordings of a board meeting that related to the complaint to the attorney general.

At this point, their stories diverge. Herrington said Hall was acting as an agency board member and that other board members had approved her contract.

Hall, however, called the deal a personal matter. He said part of the bill would wipe out Herrington’s debt to him and the rest would be paid from his pocket.

When Herrington gave Hall her $1,420 bill, the fireworks began. Hall insisted it was too high, and refused to pay the full amount, Herrington alleged.

Herrington, in her claim, said she cut her charges to $750. Hall mailed her a $375 money order, and said he paid her an additional $1,045 -- the remainder of her original bill -- after he learned this month that she had contacted the board.