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| The back of an Orange County Transportation Authority (OCTA) bus is seen in Orange County, Calif., on Aug. 21, 2020. |
( NEWS UPDATE USA)-- Orange County, Calif.—The Orange County Board of Supervisors has stripped Supervisor Andrew Do of his appointment to the Orange County Transportation Authority OCTA board and other county committees and commissions amid corruption allegations with his daughter and a nonprofit partially funded by discretionary funds from his office.
Committes and Commissions removed from include:
National Association of Counties
Orange County Community Corrections Partnership
Orange County Criminal Justice Coordinating Council
- Orange County Emergency Management Council
- South Coast Air Quality Management District
Do did not attend the board meeting on Tuesday and did not respond to a request for comment from City News Service.
Supervisor Katrina Foley noted the board cannot remove Do from office. Any action would have to be taken by state officials.
"Regrettably, we are forced to do this because he refuses to resign. We wish that he would resign; somebody who is wrapped up in the most egregious corruption scandal shouldn't continue receiving benefits at the hands of the taxpayers," Foley said.
Supervisor Vicente Sarmiento, who also had called for Do to resign, echoed the gravity of the board's action. "We do this with intention, understanding the challenges he and his office are facing," he said.
Sarmiento first introduced the motion for a formal censure against Do at the meeting but opted to postpone action to give his colleagues time to ponder the issue. "[Removing Do] from these commissions and the OCTA board is a crucial step toward transparency," said Sarmiento. "The people of District 1 do not have a completely available representative for them, and this is an unfortunate but necessary decision we must take."
The demand for Do's resignation came as the authorities investigate the claims of misuse of COVID-19 relief funds by a nonprofit organization that hired his daughter, Rhiannon Do.
The county filed a lawsuit against the Viet America Society and its President, Peter Pham, last month, claiming that they diverted millions of dollars supposed to go to meal delivery for the vulnerable residents during the pandemic to their personal gain. The Viet America Society had subcontracted with an organization called the Hand to Hand Relief organization.
Recently, the FBI conducted searches at Pham's Garden Grove home, Rhiannon Do's residence in Tustin, and the Perfume River restaurant in Westminster, where meals for the services of the Viet America Society were prepared.