Sheriff temporarily fills two vacated posts
Seeking to spread the workload after the abrupt departure of two top assistants, acting Orange County Sheriff Jack Anderson on Tuesday temporarily elevated a captain and a civilian to his command staff.
Capt. John B. Davis, who was overseeing the department’s Central Jail Complex, will be in charge of investigations, filling the vacancy left when Assistant Sheriff Steve Bishop retired last week.
Rick Dostal, a civilian director of financial services, will take over the special services division that includes training and professional standards. He replaces Jo Ann Galisky, who served as the undersheriff and assistant before she was dismissed by Anderson last week.
“Everything is on an interim basis,” said department spokesman Damon Micalizzi. “This was done to put the least amount of strain on the organization and to allow for continuity.”
The departures of Galisky and Bishop were allegedly tied to their handling of the beating death of a jail inmate, which was the subject of an exhaustive grand jury investigation by the Orange County district attorney’s office. The panel’s findings have not been made public and are under seal.
Also Tuesday, county supervisors adopted a schedule to review candidates and appoint a sheriff to permanently replace Michael S. Carona, who resigned earlier this year and is facing federal charges that he used his office to enrich himself and others, including his wife and his former mistress.
Because Carona was reelected last year, county supervisors will appoint his replacement. The board has hired a firm to conduct a national search for replacement candidates, with applications due by April 18.
The board will interviewthe candidates in public hearings from May 27 to May 30. A final decision is expected in June.
In addition to the applicants identified by the search firm, the board will interview Anderson and several other local candidates, including former Lt. Bill Hunt, who came in second to Carona in the 2006 election and has been endorsed by the deputies union.
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christian.berthelsen@latimes.com
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