Audit Finds More Problems With Troubled Fair : Inquiry: The latest report on the Antelope Valley event lists 196 recommendations, most of which are based on violations of state rules.

The recent release of a state audit of the Antelope Valley Fair that outlined dozens of improprieties is the latest in a string of problems that have plagued the fair over the past several years.

A former fair manager was convicted of grand theft in 1990 and two ex-supervisors of the fair’s off-track horse-betting facility were convicted in 1989 and 1992 of embezzlement, with one of the supervisors taking more than $26,000.

At least three other state reviews of the fair’s financial records or its operations from 1986 through 1990 revealed numerous problems, though the audit released Wednesday surpassed the prior reviews.

The audit makes 196 recommendations, most based on violations of state rules and regulations. That number is nearly four times that made in most reviews of state fairs and gives the Antelope Valley Fair the dubious distinction of having the most violations of any audited state fair in at least four years, said Kim Myrman, assistant director at the state Department of Food and Agriculture.

The agriculture department oversees California’s 80 state fairs through its Division of Fairs and Expositions.

One thing the auditors did not discover was any criminal wrongdoing, Myrman said. And despite the recurrence of prior problems in the audit, which covers a two-year period beginning Jan. 1, 1991, state officials said they are confident the fair will implement their recommendations this time.

“I firmly believe the current (fair manager) and board president are committed to providing leadership,” Myrman said.

Myrman said she is awaiting the arrival of the fair’s plan to make the changes outlined in the audit. That plan is due by Dec. 9. The state also will conduct an on-site follow-up in six months.

Rather than the standard three years between audits, Myrman said it is very likely another Antelope Valley Fair audit will be done in as little as 12 months.

At a news conference Wednesday, just hours after the audit was released, Fair Manager Bruce Latta and board President Charla Abbott said many of the recommendations in the audit had been implemented even before it was released.

“Through the process, we are even more aware of the state policies and procedures and feel confident all of the areas of concern and error will be corrected if they have not already,” Abbott read from a prepared statement. “The board of directors views this audit as educational, not punitive.”

A primary reason Latta was hired in March when the fair needed a new manager, Abbott said, was because of his extensive experience.

Myrman agreed that Latta will be instrumental in a turn-around of the fair.

“Latta knows the state system,” she said. “He understands the fair industry.”

Latta replaced Jim Pacini, who resigned suddenly in November, 1992, after 3 1/2 years in the top fair post. Pacini resigned reportedly under pressure from the fair board--the result of embezzlement charges being levied against Jack Farmer, the former supervisor of the fair’s satellite wagering center, who had served under Pacini.

Just a month after Pacini’s resignation, Farmer pleaded no contest to a felony charge of embezzling $26,500. He became the third former fair official in four years to be convicted of misusing fair funds or property.

Between January, 1990, and February, 1992, Farmer was accused of taking money 128 times from an account used to provide cash advances to credit card-using patrons. He took the money in $100 to $400 increments.

Farmer’s attorney blamed the embezzlement on a gambling addiction. Farmer became the supervisor of the fair’s satellite wagering center in 1989 and was fired in April, 1992.

Before his conviction, Farmer had contended that Pacini also took fair funds, but a sheriff’s investigation found no evidence of wrongdoing on Pacini’s part.

Farmer took the money from the wagering center’s “comcheck” system that allows horse betters to get cash advances against their credit cards. The system is still in use, though fair officials at the time the investigation was initiated against Farmer said it would be replaced with an automated teller machine.

The fair was criticized in the most recent audit for allowing non-state employees access to the comcheck system. In one instance, cited in the recent audit, a non-state employee provided $100 to a patron even though comcheck denied approval.

The problems that plagued the fair previously are even more serious. Former Fair Manager C. W. Adams, Pacini’s predecessor, pleaded no contest in March, 1990, to a misdemeanor grand theft charge involving fair property. Adams was fair manager from 1984 until he resigned in April, 1989, after fair directors discovered about $215,000 in unpaid bills, some dating back at least two years.

And Gary Lee Williams, who held the satellite wagering supervisor post before Farmer, was convicted in October, 1989, of embezzling about $3,000 from the horse-betting center, which opened in 1988.

Williams, horse-betting center supervisor from mid-1988 to mid-1989, pleaded no contest to the embezzlement charge and was sentenced to 60 days in jail.

Adams also received a jail sentence for using fair materials to build a fence at his house and fair money to buy tires for his cars. He was ordered in June, 1990, to serve 30 days in County Jail.

Besides the convictions of Farmer, Adams and Williams, the Antelope Valley Fair also has had other problems uncovered by audits.

In a 1990 audit, the state auditor general said then-manager Adams operated the Antelope Valley Fair “in a very loose administrative fashion.” The audit reviewed a three-year period beginning Jan. 1, 1986.

A state Department of Food and Agriculture audit in 1991 also concluded the fair did not have proper operational and administrative controls and failed to follow state rules and regulations. The review was of fair records for the 1990 calendar year.

A 1989 state agriculture department procedural review of the previous year also found “the fair has not complied with state requirements for contracting, purchasing, completion and payment of travel claims, and procedures in place for budget transfers.”

Neither state nor local officials had an explanation for why so many problems have plagued the fair. But the focus now is on the future, fair officials said.

“This is history,” Latta said of the recent audit. “This is yesterday. This is a guide and a direction.”

Myrman said, “We don’t expect to see a repeat of these (problems) in the future.”