Azusa : Council Travel Examined

The county district attorney’s office, responding to a request by the City Council, is examining the travel expense records of council members since April to determine whether a criminal investigation is warranted.

“We’re reviewing the materials they submitted,” said Steven Sowders, head of the special investigations unit. “That’s it for now.”

After a tense special meeting last Thursday, the council requested the investigation because of charges and countercharges by council members over a handful of trips made after the April election. The brouhaha was triggered by a side trip to Lee Vining taken by Mayor Eugene F. Moses while en route to a conference to San Francisco. Moses reportedly charged the city $47.70 for lodging on that side trip.

Moses has confirmed that he and a passenger hung signs for unsuccessful state Senate candidate Eugene Osko on the way to the remote Mono County community, but has denied any wrongdoing.

The mayor, in turn, has charged that the City Council and city staff have misused city funds, running up extravagant bills on city tabs and taking unnecessary trips.

The council’s expense records since the April election were picked up by the district attorney’s office Friday. A city-commissioned audit of expenditures before the election found no wrongdoing by any city officials.