Former OC Board of Education Trustee Long Pham has contacted California AG Kamala Harris to request an investigation into what Pham says is, “the Embezzlement of Funds from the 2016 Lunar New Year Tet Festival, hosted by Orange County Supervisor Andrew Do and his County staffers.”
Here’s his letter:
Dear Attorney General Harris:
I am writing to request your investigation into the embezzlement caused by members of the “2016 Orange County Tet Festival” (www.octetfest.org) directed by Orange County Supervisor Andrew Do’s office in conducting the 2016 Lunar New Year Festival in Mile Square Regional Park in Fountain Valley, California, for 3 days from February 12 to February 14, 2016.
This festival was widely advertised as an event sponsored by Supervisor Andrew Do’s office and the Orange County Parks Department. His Chief of Staff, Nick Lecong, and other county employees were assigned to closely direct all the activities. Since the admission to this county festival was free, the booth rentals became the sole source of income. Booth spaces were carefully divided and properly priced to ensure no budget deficit in the end. The Vietnamese Community of Southern California (VCSC) was selected, without an open bid process, to manage the booth rental and all the collected funds that were reported to have been submitted to the county. However, Supervisor Do’s Chief of Staff now claims the festival has no money to make payments to many of the performers, the band, and other parties who won big prize contests at the festival. The missing funds were there in the planning process and had been collected up front as the booths were sold out. If the funds were not embezzled, how is it only unaccounted for after the VCSC submitted it to the County Supervisor’s office?
The investigation of your office into this case will help to restore the integrity of our local government that has been seriously degraded in Orange County. This matter should normally be referred to the Orange County District Attorney Office for investigation. I write to your office to avoid the conflict of interest because the District Attorney has already endorsed Supervisor Do for his re-election campaign.
I will be available to answer any questions that your office may have, and look forward to hearing the outcome of your investigation.
Sincerely,
Dr. Long Pham, PE
Former Orange County Board of Education Trustee
Pham’s charges seem very detailed. Now the question is will Harris actually spend time doing her job or is she too busy running for US Senate to bother?