County Will Sue Sheriff Duffy on Secret Account

Angered that San Diego County Sheriff John Duffy set up a secret account for money seized in drug raids, the Board of Supervisors decided Tuesday to file a lawsuit to regain control of the money.

The civil lawsuit is expected to be filed today in San Diego Superior Court. The board reached a consensus in closed session to go to court over the matter, which has further soured the already strained relationship between supervisors and the sheriff, who is retiring from office.

The suit could include a request for a temporary restraining order to prevent Duffy from making further allocations from the secret account, county officials suggested.

The board wants the court to force Duffy to account for the more than $300,000 seized in drug raids--called asset-forfeiture funds--and return the money to the control of the supervisors, said county spokesman Bob Lerner.

County auditors discovered the secret account last week.

Duffy has said in a prepared statement that supervisors have no authority over the money. Federal guidelines say such funds can be used only for law enforcement purposes. He said the money has been placed in a private account, where it has earned “substantial” interest, and disbursements have been “minimal.”

Supervisor Brian Bilbray said the board adamantly maintains its position that the drug-seizure money belongs to the county government--not the Sheriff’s Department--and that the Board of Supervisors is responsible for those funds.

“The county can be held liable and so we have the right to know what’s going on with those funds,” Bilbray said. “(Duffy) wants to control that money but avoid the liability. What he’s done is an inappropriate use of funds by any county employee. . . . He wants to be exempt from the local review process.”