OXNARD, Calif. - A penalty reduction for an Oxnard produce business involved no criminal violations by the mayor or fire chief, Ventura County District Attorney Greg Totten’s office found.
The district attorney review was prompted by a complaint in April from the city firefighters union that questioned the chief’s authority to reduce certain fines and the mayor’s participation in affairs involving a campaign contributor. The review, summarized in two letters sent in December, found all actions legally permissible.
Freska Produce International LLC, a mango importer on Mountain View Avenue east of downtown, received a $25,000 penalty in October 2013 from the Oxnard Fire Department for violating hazardous material storage rules. The company failed to get a permit to store 500 pounds of anhydrous ammonia and had an unpermitted carbon dioxide storage tank on site, according to the department.
The city, in an enforcement letter, offered Freska a settlement reducing the penalty to $17,250 and encouraged company officials to meet for an informal conference. Fire Chief James Williams, Mayor Tim Flynn and a city staff member attended the conference, according to the District Attorney’s Office. The company’s fine was ultimately lowered to $8,625.
The office determined the fine could be modified and that Freska’s campaign contributions to Flynn and a gift worth $350 did not create legal conflicts of interest.
“It was evident to us that the fire chief had the authority to establish the amount of the monetary penalty and that Mayor Flynn didn’t violate any conflict-of-interest laws by being present during the meeting,” said Special Assistant District Attorney Michael Schwartz, who oversees the Public Integrity Unit.
Freska contributed $6,000 to Flynn’s campaigns during the 2010, 2012 and 2014 elections, filings show. Under state law, campaign contributions are not generally counted as income or gifts that would prohibit a public official from taking part in a decision involving the contributor, the district attorney review says.
Flynn also reported receiving a $350 ticket to a Dodgers game in August 2012 from Freska co-owner Gary Clevenger. Flynn, who calls Clevenger a friend, told The Star in 2013 he had repaid the $350 and said again this week he returned the gift.
Even if Flynn hadn’t returned the funds, the amount was below a $420 state limit at the time that would have barred him from participating in or influencing city actions involving the company, according to the district attorney review. The meeting with Freska was also held more than a year after the gift was made, so it was outside any restricted time frame.
Flynn said he is often approached by constituents seeking help with a city bureaucracy notorious for a difficult permit process.
“Anytime a business approaches me, I’ll say, ‘I can set up a meeting with staff,’ ” Flynn said, adding he sometimes attends but not always.
He attributed the Freska complaint to “the way politics is,” noting the firefighters union supported his main opponent in November’s election. A committee created by the city’s police and fire unions reported spending more than $34,000 to support Councilman Bryan MacDonald’s mayoral bid, filings show.
“It goes with the territory: People are going to accuse you of things,” Flynn said of being mayor.
Jeff Donabedian, president of the Oxnard Firefighters Association and a department captain, said questions brought to his attention by employees prompted him to seek the third-party review. While most are satisfied no crime was committed, concerns remain about “borderline unethical behavior,” he said, such as having the mayor sitting in the room when a friend and contributor is negotiating a penalty reduction.
“Oxnard has had a black eye for these kinds of deals — extreme favors for political friends,” Donabedian said. “Is that what we want? It that ethical?”
Clevenger, Freska’s co-owner, said Flynn helped mediate a difficult process during which he felt he wasn’t being listened to and employees would “sit behind a desk, reading from a book” rather than helping to resolve issues.
Fire Chief Williams said Freska is now in compliance on the hazardous materials issues. Flynn never asked for any reduction in the fines, he said.
“The idea here is to gain compliance, not to be punitive,” Williams said of the penalties. Getting businesses to handle hazardous materials properly creates a safe environment for the community and emergency responders, he said.
The Freska case was the first fine modification he had been involved with since coming to Oxnard in 2013, but such adjustments were normal at the Oakland Fire Department, where he served as fire marshal, among other posts, Williams said.
Flynn, Donabedian and Williams all said the district attorney review provided welcome, neutral oversight.
“People want to make sure proper processes are followed,” Williams said. “It’s OK for people to question things. That’s how we learn, how we grow and how we hold people accountable.”
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