Auditor-Controller Appeals for More Defense Funds

Auditor-Controller Steve E. Lewis, the only remaining county official facing charges related to the county’s bankruptcy, is making another appeal to supervisors for defense funds.

The Board of Supervisors already allocated Lewis $300,000 to cover his legal expenses but has refused to grant him additional funds in an apparent effort to make him resign from office.

Lewis has accumulated more than $550,000 in bills as he fights civil misconduct charges for allegedly failing to prevent the $1.64-billion bankruptcy.

The Board of Supervisors will decide Tuesday whether to increase Lewis’ defense spending cap to $665,800. The sum is equal to the amount the board allocated to former county budget director Ronald S. Rubino, who faced criminal charges related to the bankruptcy.

Rubino eventually pleaded no contest to a single misdemeanor charge under an agreement that will allow him to change the plea to not guilty in a year.

Lewis’ attorney said the $665,800 should cover all of the auditor’s legal expenses and that he would not seek to raise the cap until after a trial was completed or if a state appeals court dismisses the charges.

County officials proposed that the additional funds come from unspent legal fees allocated to Board of Supervisors Chairman Roger R. Stanton and Supervisor William G. Steiner, who also faced misconduct charges until the 4th District Court of Appeal dismissed their cases earlier this month.

Steiner, who has consistently voted to pay Lewis’ defense costs, said he intends to support the latest proposal. “What this does is put a cap on the expenses,” Steiner said.

Supervisor Don Saltarelli said he is unwilling to allocate any additional county funds for Lewis but might consider granting him some of Steiner’s and Stanton’s unspent legal funds.