PUSD wants DA to step in (again)

PUSD believes it got shortchanged by contractors doing work on their last big bond measure.

The district turned the results of its investigation over to Pasadena PD, which turned its investigation over to the DA's office, where the case was promptly rejected.

The official reason for the rejection was the tangle of convoluted paperwork associated with the claim. Nate McIntire and Caroline An got the same paperwork, and agree it's a barely dechiperable mess.

In any case, PUSD thinks it can get the DA's office to reopen the case. Here's a snippet of their story, which ran in the Star-News today:

PASADENA - School district officials called on the District Attorney's Office on Monday to reopen an investigation into potential fraud related to school improvement projects.

In an afternoon press conference, Superintendent Edwin Diaz released documents that show two contractors improperly billed the Pasadena Unified School District almost $300,000.

"We're hoping that at least one of these individuals will be charged," Diaz said and added he is urging the school board to begin civil action against the individuals.

District officials also released hundreds of pages of documents they claim support their allegations. The documents included invoices for work never performed and records of payments made to an unlicensed contractor working under the supervision of a district employee.

Officials also released transcripts of conversations with an unlicensed contractor in which the contractor confessed to paying kickbacks to the supervisor.

The documents were given to investigators in March.

In May, prosecutors declined to file any charges after citing poor record keeping and faulty project oversight by the district.

Sandy Gibbons, spokeswoman for Los Angeles County District Attorney Steve Cooley, said Monday her office had not received Diaz's letter requesting it revisit the case.