Water District Officials Under Investigation
The Orange County district attorney’s office launched an investigation Monday into whether two top managers of the Santa Margarita Water District violated state conflict-of-interest laws by recommending approval of contracts to companies that had given them thousands of dollars worth of gifts.
“We have received a complaint involving the water district, and we will be looking into the matter,” Deputy Dist. Atty. Guy N. Ormes said Monday.
The Times reported Monday that General Manager Walter W. (Bill) Knitz and his deputy, Michael P. Lord, accepted more than $40,000 in gifts from contractors and consultants over the last several years. Some of the contractors and consultants did millions of dollars worth of district work.
At an emergency meeting called Monday night, the water district’s board of directors canceled the spending privileges of Knitz and Lord. Any expenditure by them must be approved by at least two of the board’s five members, and, even then, such a payment must be “absolutely essential” or an emergency, board members said.
“We have taken absolute control of the situation,” Don B. Schone, chairman of the Santa Margarita district, said after the 2 1/2-hour, closed-door meeting.
The new limits on the two district managers will encompass all business activities, even the purchase of gasoline for district-owned cars.
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