A former volunteer in the District Attorney’s Office ensnared in
controversy several months ago for allegedly impersonating a cop,
was paid more than $10,000 over five months which has some county
officials wondering whether it was a sound expenditure for the
cash-strapped county.
Hollister – A former volunteer in the District Attorney’s Office ensnared in controversy several months ago for allegedly impersonating a cop, was paid more than $10,000 over five months which has some county officials wondering whether it was a sound expenditure for the cash-strapped county.
William “Andy” Simpson was paid $10,354 between March and August to deliver subpoenas in criminal court cases. During the same period of time, Marshal Robert Scattini, who is the county’s main process server, collected $6,510 for delivering subpoenas, according to the district attorney’s annual financial records.
District Attorney John Sarsfield said his office serves thousands of subpoenas and needs more than one person to do the job, and that the amount of money paid to Simpson was not unusually high.
He said Simpson also worked as a volunteer investigative aid but did not receive payment for those services.
“Robbie is the primary process server, but there are times when we need a subpoena served tomorrow and we have to say, ‘Who’s available?'” Sarsfield said. “There’s too much work for one person. I know $10,000 seems like a lot of subpoenas, but we generate a subpoena for almost every case and we have an average of 2,500 criminal cases a year.”
Supervisor Reb Monaco, however, questions whether the expenditure was fiscally responsible.
“I have concerns if it was the best policy for using county funds,” Monaco said. “It’s not my role to be an investigator of these kinds of things… and it’s not our role to micro-manage his department. But I’m sure we haven’t heard the last of this.”
Simpson did not return phone calls Friday.
Sarsfield said he is looking for more people to serve subpoenas because the large quantity his office serves, and that Scattini does not serve subpoenas out of county so he has to employ other people to perform that service.
“Mr. Monaco should have called me and asked me before he shot his mouth off,” Sarsfield said. “The only thing irresponsible is the ridiculous level of public safety funding in this county… especially in the district attorney’s office. The Board of Supervisors better wake up because this is public safety we’re talking about.”
Sarsfield said the amount of money Simpson received between March and August of this year was not exorbitant and that using his services actually saved the county money because he charged nearly $3 less per subpoena than Scattini.
Scattini said the money he earns delivering subpoenas is part of his salary for being the marshal.
Scattini charges $30 per subpoena, a rate Scattini said is set by the state, and Sarsfield said Simpson charged $27.50.
Before employing Simpson as a process server, Sarsfield asked the county attorney if Simpson needed a contract and Deputy County Counsel Darren Bogie sent a memo stating it was not necessary.
Sarsfield proposed hiring Simpson part-time as a “special agent” at a Board of Supervisors meeting in August, but reversed course when county officials told him investigators have to be sworn officers.
Scattini said he had never heard of anyone else serving subpoenas for the district attorney’s office.
“If that was $10,000, apparently he served a whole lot more than I did,” Scattini said. “Unless he’s doing investigative work. Investigators get pretty good money. Ten thousand in five months is a lot of money.”
Questions first arose about Simpson’s work with the District Attorney’s Office when several top law enforcement officials voiced concerns that Simpson had shown up to traffic stops wearing a badge and possibly toting a gun, which he is not authorized to do.
Officials were also concerned that Simpson was doing investigative work for the DA’s office normally reserved for sworn officers, and that his actions could lead to legal problems for the county.
Sarsfield denied ever issuing Simpson a badge or gun and said he never authorized him to act as an investigator.
Simpson stopped working for the DA’s office in August.
Erin Musgrave covers public safety for the Free Lance. Reach her at 637-5566, ext. 336 or
em*******@fr***********.com
