School Board Member May Sue L.A. County

A Hawthorne school board member is threatening to sue Los Angeles County, alleging that investigators for the district attorney placed a tracking device under his wife’s car that caused it to burst into flames.

Frank DeSimone, 31, who has been publicly accused by a fellow board member of illegally living outside his district, filed a claim against the county last week as a prelude to a possible lawsuit.

DeSimone, who has served on the Hawthorne school board since he was 20, was being investigated by the district attorney’s public integrity division when the tracking device was allegedly placed.

According to the claim, which the county has 45 days to accept or deny, DeSimone’s wife’s 2003 Lexus “burst into flames” in late January in the attached garage of her home. The fire set off a smoke alarm and his wife called 911 while DeSimone tried to put out the flames with a fire extinguisher. But the flames persisted.

DeSimone was able to roll the car out of the garage before the car became engulfed.

Firefighters arrived minutes later and put out the fire.

“It’s fortunate the family wasn’t incinerated,” said Mark Werksman, DeSimone’s attorney. “We want to get to the bottom of it and find out what went wrong with the device. This is a witch hunt and they almost burned him at the stake.”

DeSimone’s wife, Jennifer Salas, and their 8-month-old son live in Cypress, about 24 miles away in Orange County. DeSimone says he stays in Cypress part time and lives with his parents in Hawthorne. When asked by The Times during a three-way call how much time he spends in Cypress, DeSimone was advised by his lawyer not to answer because of the investigation.

Dist. Atty. Steve Cooley’s office and Hawthorne police confirm that search warrants were executed at DeSimone’s house in Hawthorne and in Cypress on the same day but wouldn’t comment further.

State law requires school board members to live in the district they are elected to represent. An official who lives outside his district could be stripped of his seat and be charged with defrauding voters. If convicted, an official could be sentenced to three years or more in state prison, said David Demerjian, head deputy of the public integrity division.

Born and raised in Hawthorne, a city of 90,000 near Los Angeles International Airport, DeSimone is the youngest person to serve on the five-member board. The entertainment consultant, first elected in 1995, said he wanted to give back to his community. Board members, who get a stipend of about $2,600 a year, praised DeSimone for his intellect, ability and passion for children.

“He’s bright, capable and cares about the children in this community,” Hawthorne School District Supt. Donald Carrington said.

DeSimone, who was married in August 2004, said his wife owned a home in Cypress. Property records show that she purchased it a month before the wedding. Board members said they were not informed of his marriage.

“When I got married, I wanted the whole world to know,” said Hawthorne school board President Cristina Chiappe. “So why would I hide it?”

The issue of DeSimone’s residence was raised at a school board meeting in October that turned into a showdown when then-board member Shirley Duff accused DeSimone of living outside the 10,000-student school district and hiding the fact that he was married with a child.

DeSimone said he did live in Hawthorne and invited Duff to his home to discuss the matter. But the Daily Breeze newspaper reported that DeSimone denied having a wife and child when asked by a reporter at the conclusion of the meeting.

Though many -- including Carrington -- say they were not aware of DeSimone’s family before that meeting, DeSimone denies keeping his family a secret.

Meanwhile, investigators are trying to determine whether DeSimone has broken the law.

It is not clear when the investigation began but it apparently took a bizarre turn Jan. 29, two days after investigators searched the homes of DeSimone and Salas.

The Orange County Fire Authority said the fire in Salas’ car started in the engine compartment but did not mention a tracking device. The report listed the cause as undetermined and estimated the property damage at $10,000.

DeSimone’s claim, however, estimates damages at $50,000 and says that the family suffered smoke inhalation and that DeSimone was admitted to a local hospital the next day for an irregular heartbeat.

The claim blames an ST801 Guardian GPS vehicle tracking device made by Orion Electronics Ltd. of Canada as the probable cause of fire. DeSimone filed a lawsuit against Orion last week. Paul Sangster, vice president of Orion Electronics, declined to comment on the device or on the company.

Bill Ussery, product communications manager for Lexus, said a tracking device could cause a car fire if it were incorrectly wired to the vehicle’s engine.

Salas’ insurer, Mercury Insurance Group, is investigating but declined to comment.

Werksman said Deputy Dist. Atty. Max Huntsman apologized for the incident and investigators removed the tracking device.

Werksman questioned the judgment of the district attorney’s office in what he called a “trivial investigation” of DeSimone. “He’s not a drug dealer. He’s not a member of an Al Qaeda cell,” Werksman said. “It’s a residency issue.”

Huntsman declined to comment on the probe but agreed to talk about residency investigations in general. He wouldn’t call them trivial, explaining that they can uncover more serious crimes such as perjury.

Despite the investigation, DeSimone says he wants to stay on the board. Asked if he had considered running for the school board in Cypress, he said, “I never even gave it a thought. I grew up in Hawthorne, and that’s where my heart is.”