http://www.insidesocal.com/news247/2008/10/president-of-high-desert-water.html
President of High Desert water agency pleads
guilty to eavesdropping charges, steps down
By Jason Pesick on October 30, 2008 8:37 PM
The president of a High Desert water agency
pleaded guilty Wednesday to eavesdropping and must step down from his post.
Phillip Terrence Johnson, 64, of Landers, must
resign from his position as president of the
Bighorn-Desert View Water Agency by Nov. 6, said
Deputy District Attorney John Goritz.
The agency serves Flamingo Heights, Johnson Valley and Landers.
"I think it was a reasonable outcome, given the
facts of the case," Goritz said.
Johnson -- who pleaded guilty to two misdemeanor
counts of eavesdropping -- can serve his 30-day
jail sentence on weekends and will be on probation for three years.
He will not be able to hold elected office during that time.
Johnson was originally charged with two felony
counts and one misdemeanor count in August for
recording a closed-session meeting of the board
in 2006, secretly recording attorney interviews
with potential witnesses in a personnel matter in
2007, and allegedly recording a phone
conversation with a water district employee in 2007.
He pleaded guilty to the charges from the first two incidents, Goritz said.
Johnson Valley resident and watchdog Jim Harvey
has filed a number of complaints about the
agency's board with the district attorney.
"I think the fact that Mr. Johnson was removed
from the board was a good service for the community," he said.
But, he added, the board has plenty of other ongoing problems.
"They have a long history of disregard for the
rule of law and acting open as a public agency," he said.
"There's this inability to do the right thing,
follow the code of conduct, follow the rule of
law and serve the people," Harvey said.
Goritz said the district attorney's investigation
into Johnson has now come to an end, but he said
the office is still investigating the agency.
He would not comment on the investigation.
Last year, voters recalled three members of the agency's board of directors.
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Received on Sat Mar 02 2024 - 00:57:17 CST