Agency Looks Into Dealings With Somis Contractor

Days after defending a contractor repeatedly cited for illegal dumping, county Public Works Director Art Goulet said Friday he has launched an investigation of his agency’s dealings with Tom A. Staben.

The inquiry could result in the agency submitting evidence to the district attorney for a possible criminal case against the Somis-based contractor, Goulet said.

“I want to see why we are not pursuing things, if they need pursuit,” Goulet said. “If the D.A. wants to make resources available to us so we can effectively go after egregious violators, I’ll be very happy to have that assistance.”

Goulet’s office has come under fire for awarding about $2.3 million in storm cleanup contracts to Staben since 1993--despite the fact Staben has been cited three times for illegal dumping into a stream bed on his Somis farm.

Earlier this week, Goulet suggested the citations carried little weight because the district attorney does not place priority on illegal dumping and certain county code violations. Goulet reiterated his stance Friday, saying prosecutors rarely cooperate with code inspectors trying to crack down on polluters.

“As I’ve already expressed, we have not gotten substantial support from the D.A.’s office,” Goulet said.

Chastised by county supervisors for his apparent disregard of the dumping, Goulet stressed he will only take action against Staben if he believes he can mount substantial evidence. Another problem, he said, may have been a lack of enforcement of the citations by overworked county inspectors.

“We don’t have the resources, or the time, sometimes, to get things rectified,” he said.

Prosectors said they welcome Goulet’s probe.

“That’s great,” Deputy Dist. Atty. Michael Frawley said. “If you present us with evidence, we’ll go after it. And it sounds like he’s taken up that cause. It’s something we’ve always wanted.

“It takes someone to come forward,” Frawley added. “We can’t do something we don’t know anything about.”

In fact, the district attorney brought charges against Staben in 1990, which resulted in Staben pleading no contest to illegally operating a storage yard on property in Camarillo. He was ordered to pay $3,570 in fines, placed on three years’ probation and agreed to halt the illegal discharge of sewage at properties in Somis and Camarillo.

Staben’s business dealings with the county have prompted an outcry from environmentalists, who say the county should not be hiring contractors cited for polluting.

More recently, county officials hired Staben under a $994,000 pact to fix an Ojai Valley road embankment that collapsed during El Nino-driven storms.

Responding to complaints about Staben, Supervisor John K. Flynn announced this week he will craft an ordinance that would bar environmental lawbreakers from receiving county contracts.