Criminal Probe Targets Municipal Court Expenses

A number of questionable expenses at the South Bay Municipal Court in Torrance, including a $4,600 Moscow trip for a law clerk and a series of seminars costing $8,400 for an administrator, have prompted a criminal investigation.

The investigations by the district attorney’s special investigations division and the county Chief Administrative Office began when a tipster reported that the South Bay court--which is expected to have a $2.5-million budget deficit this year--was supplementing its operations budget by dipping into the county’s mandatory expense fund.

That $55-million fund, which is shared by the county’s 24 municipal courts, is intended to cover such expenses as court-appointed attorneys, expert witnesses and interpreters, said county administrator Michael J. Henry. Auditors conducting the probe have reported a number of unusual items, including travel expenses, computer and furniture purchases, and construction costs for a guard counter and a parking garage, Henry said.