The board voted Jan. 5 to ask the California Attorney General's Office to begin a formal investigation into Sgt. David Garzoli's flight training under the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) grants, as Lake County News has reported.
Along with that letter to the attorney general requesting an investigation, the board on Tuesday approved sending similar letters requesting investigations to the DEA and the Federal Aviation Administration.
On Tuesday the DEA's Washington, DC headquarters did not provide Lake County News with a response regarding whether or not the agency would look into such a matter if asked by the county.
However, both the California Attorney General's Office and the FAA responded to similar questions.
Evan Westrup, deputy press secretary for the Attorney General's Office, told Lake County News they would review the request when they receive it.
Daniel Abdon, an aviation safety inspector with the FAA's Sacramento Flight Standards District Office, told Lake County News on Tuesday that the agency is obligated to look into any public complaint alleging improprieties with regard to federal aviation rules.
“We're concerned about the public and their safety,” Abdon said.
The FAA would need to make an initial determination about whether or not a full-blown investigation is merited, and that would require a significant amount of information about the situation, said Abdon.
Garzoli's flying activities came to light after he and an instructor pilot were involved in a crash landing during an autorotation maneuver near Cow Mountain on June 25, 2009.
Then a lieutenant, Garzoli has since been demoted to sergeant in the wake of the investigation that arose over his flying instruction.
Documents obtained by Lake County News also showed that Garzoli was actively working to institute a sheriff's aviation program. In late 2008 he submitted to Sheriff Rod Mitchell a plan for the program that included a quote to purchase a used helicopter for just over $450,000.
The Board of Supervisors had not been aware of Garzoli's activities, nor had they approved them, although the flight training was included in a 2009 operational plan submitted to the DEA. That document wasn't presented to the board until last fall, after the board's inquiry into the matter began.
Similarly, Sheriff Rod Mitchell told the board previously that he was not aware of the extent of Garzoli's flight activities, although he knew of the training included in the operational plan.
One of the county's main concerns is that it may have to repay some of the DEA grant funds if they are judged to have been misused.
The letter the county addressed to the DEA explained that, based on the county's internal audit – which was presented to the board Jan. 5 – grant funds totaling at least $8,500, “and perhaps more,” were used for pilot training. A thorough investigation of the matter is needed, the letter explained, as it's important for the county to remain eligible for the funds.
Board doesn't want investigation bounced back
Board Chair Anthony Farrington said on Tuesday that he wanted to send with the attorney general's letter a copy of the county's internal audit.
In addition, Farrington asked County Counsel Anita Grant if they should send with the letter an e-mail that Garzoli sent to Sheriff Rod Mitchell in September, taking responsibility for flying on grant time.
“It really depends on what the board wants to accomplish here,” Grant replied.
The question, Grant continued, is whether the board wants the attorney general to take the county's review a little further, or conduct a separate, autonomous investigation.
She suggested that, because of the volumes of information on the case, the county could invite state officials to come to Lake County to look through the materials in order to facilitate the inquiry.
Farrington said he wanted to arm the attorney general with as much information as possible, and doesn't want the agency to kick the case back to Lake County for investigation.
Supervisor Denise Rushing had similar concerns.
“There's no guarantee the attorney general will take this up,” she said.
In fact, she added, “They may bounce it back.”
She said she's received anonymous e-mails from citizens suggesting that the county ask the attorney general's office to broaden the investigation. However, she was concerned that if it starts to look like a “fishing expedition” the attorney general likely won't take it up.
Rushing referenced the final paragraph in the letter to the attorney general, which asks the agency to take up the investigation “to eliminate any possible public perception that those conducting the investigation might have a conflict of interest.”
She asked if it was possible to make the language even stronger to prevent the investigation from being bounced back to Lake County.
Supervisor Rob Brown said the entire letter is pretty strong. He said the letter's second-to-last paragraph, which explains the board's responsibility in being “capable and diligent stewards of public monies,” is very clear on the board's obligation in the matter.
Supervisor Jeff Smith suggested that photocopies of Garzoli's original flight logbooks as well as typed narrative logbooks he also supplied to county officials be sent to the FAA.
There are discrepancies between those two sets of logbooks, according to what Chief Deputy Administrative Officer Matt Perry told the board Jan. 5, as Lake County News has reported.
Perry told the board that the main difference was that the original handwritten logbook didn't have notations referring to marijuana reconnaissance or law enforcement for most of its entries prior to March 2009. In the typed version of the logbook, however, there were numerous pre-March 2009 law enforcement-related entries.
Rushing suggested adding a line at the end of the letter to the attorney general noting that there already has been a great deal of public scrutiny in the situation.
She moved to have the letters to the different agencies approved with changes and additional notations of enclosed materials. The board unanimously approved all three letters.
Farrington asked about the last time that a request had been made to the attorney general's office for an investigation. Rushing said it related to the prosecution of Carmichael resident Bismarck Dinius, 41, who was acquitted last summer of felony boating under the influence. He was at the tiller of a sailboat hit from behind at night by Russell Perdock, an off-duty sheriff's deputy.
Sailors from around the world who supported Dinius went on Attorney General Jerry Brown's Facebook page to ask that he look into the case. Although he indicated at one point that he was looking into it, his office didn't take up a formal investigation.
“I think that's why it's important that we're very upfront and direct,” Rushing said.
Investigation must follow a process
County officials have raised concerns that Garzoli was doing a large amount of his flying without a commercial license, although he reportedly had some training for a private license.
Last year Garzoli reported on the Web site www.mywrittenexam.com that he took the written test for his commercial-helicopter pilot license on April 3, 2009, and passed with a score of 96 percent.
The board's letter to Mary Walsh, the FAA's acting assistant administrator for government and industry affairs, advises her “of a concern in regard to an individual who may have been engaged in activities requiring a commercial pilot license, while still in training to obtain a private license.”
The letter points specifically to the fall of 2008, when Garzoli may have been engaged in surveillance of illegal marijuana gardens while flying a rented helicopter without the commercial license.
“We understand that holding a commercial pilot license is a requirement to engage in such activities,” the letter said. “As stewards of the public trust, we wish to advise you of this matter in the event that you deem is appropriate for further investigation.”
Speaking generally and not specifically to the Garzoli case, Abdon added, “If the person is being paid to fly an aircraft or helicopter, they would certainly have to have a commercial certificate.”
However, the licensing questions in this case would need to be explored by the FAA upon formally receiving the complaint. “Flying is a complex endeavor,” Abdon said.
Abdon, offering a general explanation of the investigation process, said the FAA likely would request the logbooks and other information the county has compiled in order to look into it further.
If a full investigation in a situation is warranted, upon its completion the agency's legal department would decide if there were any improprieties, Abdon said. During the investigation, the agency wouldn't be able to comment on it.
E-mail Elizabeth Larson at
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