Thirteen years after an attorney and an anonymous group calling itself Los Valientes filed a lawsuit against then-Supervisor Richard Scagliotti, outside legal fees in the case have reached $585,121, according to records obtained by the Free Lance.
Los Valientes in 2003 filed the lawsuit, with Salinas attorney Mike Pekin at the helm, alleging corruption by Scagliotti while in office as a supervisor.
A judge in March ruled against Scagliotti in the case while ordering the ex-official to pay $237,500. Visiting Judge Robert O’Farrell concluded he had a conflict of interest on a development decision and failed to properly report a series of financial conflicts. O’Farrell ruled on more than two-dozen allegations while concluding insufficient evidence existed for many of them.
On Tuesday, the county board approved hiring the Roseville-based law firm Cota Cole to recover attorneys’ fees incurred by the county in defending Scagliotti.
In response to a public records request by the Free Lance, County Counsel Matthew Granger released a breakdown of outside legal fees in the Scagliotti case since it started in October 2003.
Granger said since the complaint to recover legal fees hadn’t been filed against Scagliotti yet, he was unsure how much money the county would pursue.
Those legal fees from two law firms—along with some costs for transcripts and other document services—totaled $585,121, according to provided records.
There are two law firms listed, one receiving $472,558 and the other—doing the work just in 2005-06—got $106,744. Additionally, there was $5,818 in miscellaneous document costs. For context, the county’s annual general fund budget is about $39 million.
Fiscal years with the most legal fees in the case included 2014-15 ($119,834), 2008-09 ($125,482) and 2007-08 ($94,874), the records showed.
Scagliotti served four terms on the county board and did not run for reelection in 2004 after the lawsuit’s filing.
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