A year after former Orange County Supervisor Andrew Do reported to federal prison to serve time for bribery, evidence continues to surface of widespread corruption and mismanagement of taxpayer dollars during his time in office.
A county report released Wednesday found that millions of dollars in COVID-era contracts and grants were directed by Do and another top county official with no competitive bidding and little to no accounting of how the money was spent. Overall, the report paints a picture of a local government facing an unprecedented public health crisis, flush with federal relief dollars, but with minimal guardrails to ensure those dollars were properly spent.
For example, Do awarded a $500,000 small business grant in May 2021 to Bridgecreek Realty Investment Corp. to expand outdoor dining in Little Saigon during the pandemic. But the audit noted that the contract never required Bridgecreek to provide supporting documentation for how the money was spent — such as invoices or receipts. In the end, there is no documentation for how more than half of the taxpayer funds were used…