Rackauckas Admits Conspiring with his Fiancé in Public Guardian Office

We received the following press release on behalf of Todd Spitzer regarding his ongoing feud with District Attorney Tony Rackauckas:

Spitzer Vindicated

Santa Ana, CA – At the time of former Assistant District Attorney Todd Spitzer’s firing, District Attorney Tony Rackauckas claimed Spitzer’s “inappropriate” contact of the Public Guardian office was the singular reason for his termination.  Public Guardian John Williams claimed to possess a transcript of Spitzer’s conversation with his staff that was the smoking gun that led to Spitzer’s termination.  A public record request by the media revealed that no transcript ever existed. Even the notes from Supervising Deputy Public Administrator Sheila Roberge are harmless and back-up Spitzer’s version of the facts: “He (Spitzer) then stated he simply needed to know whether or not our office was conducting a full investigation so that his office would know whether or not they needed to proceed on their end.” 

The Orange County Register revealed that John Williams lied when he claimed that his office acted alone when it issued a Saturday news release following former Assistant District Attorney Todd Spitzer’s routine investigative question.  Susan Kang Schroeder has since admitted that she conspired with the Public Guardian’s office on that weekend news release, having initially denied any collusion.  Not insignificantly, Rackauckas’s fiancé Peggi Buff is second-in-command to John Williams at the Public Guardian office.

Perhaps realizing that the Public Guardian excuse was hollow and unpersuasive, Rackauckas last week created more than a dozen other manufactured and provably false allegations in a feeble attempt to justify terminating Spitzer.  After Rackauckas took his best shot last week to discredit Spitzer, what everyone still knows and understands is that the termination was nothing other than politically motivated so that Susan Kang Schroeder can run for District Attorney in 2014.

Rackauckas is clearly hoping that his allegations will deflect attention away from his fiancé.  It will not.  The Grand Jury has already twice determined malfeasance in the Public Guardian’s office.  In addition, the CEO recommended last December that the Public Guardian report directly to the CEO.  That measure failed on a 3-2 vote, but now Supervisor Pat Bates has requested an independent audit of the Public Guardian and the CEO will be coming back to the Board of Supervisors to recommend an audit approach. “When you steal innocent children’s inheritance, like in the Tapout estate case, to balance your bloated pensions and excess expenses, that type of greed will catch up with you,” stated Spitzer, “I commend the CEO and the Board for protecting the public against bureaucratic greed,” he added.

“The District Attorney’s office, run by Susan Kang Schroeder, is finding that its lies, corruption and cover-ups stemming from nepotism and inside dealing are being exposed,” said Spitzer.  “Susan was so blinded by her usual retaliatory anger that she allowed the Public Guardian to believe that I made up the whole bad check case to get dirt on Buff and Williams. That allegation is clearly false.  The public is tired of watching public officials like Rackauckas use their offices for political gain.  From former Treasurer Bob Citron to convicted Sheriff Mike Carona, the law eventually brings Orange County’s corrupt politicians to justice – even those whose job it is to dispense that justice.”