Today marks one year since former Orange County Supervisor Andrew Do called for LAist reporter Nick Gerda to be fired.
At that point, Gerda had written three stories over four weeks about Do and his lack of transparency about family ties. At the center of that reporting: Do had quietly awarded millions to his daughter’s nonprofit, money that had since gone unaccounted for.
Federal and local prosecutors ultimately investigated the allegations first reported by LAist. In October, when Do pleaded guilty to a scheme to steal millions of those dollars that were meant to feed needy seniors, federal officials credited media reports for alerting them to the crimes.
Here are some key moments from our investigation.
A call to fire the reporter
The news release went out the morning of Dec. 20, 2023, in an email blast to reporters and posts on Do’s social media accounts.
Prominently featuring the county government’s logo, the release carried a headline in large, bolded capital letters:
“SUPERVISOR DO CALLS ON LAist TO FIRE REPORTER NICK GERDA.”