Supervisor won't drop his call for MTA audit (Source: LA Daily News)

Link: Supervisor won't drop his call for MTA audit - LA Daily News

Supervisor won't drop his call for MTA audit
INVESTIGATION: Ridley-Thomas going it alone on request.
By Troy Anderson, Staff Writer
Updated: 02/10/2010 08:42:34 PM PST

Undeterred by his failure to authorize an audit of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority's legal costs, county Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas said Wednesday he plans to ask the agency's own board to investigate the issue.

Ridley-Thomas had authored a motion Tuesday for the Board of Supervisors to approve an audit of Metro's legal costs, which include $30 million spent on a Red Line contractor lawsuit. His proposal died, however, when none of the other supervisors would second his motion so it could be brought to a vote.

Several supervisors said they believe the county will eventually win the Red Line case, even though an earlier judgment in favor of Metro was overturned on appeal. All five supervisors are Metro board members.

Ridley-Thomas now plans to introduce a similar motion directly to the Metro board later this month.

"It's hard to understand how such a significant amount of money could be expended without proper oversight and controls," Ridley-Thomas said. "It's clear that these controls were not in place and they should be. The MTA is responsible for the prudent management of our scarce resources."

According to Ridley-Thomas, the Metro board did not authorize about a third of the $30 million spent litigating the case.

The joint venture Tutor-Saliba-Perini sued Metro in 1995 to recover $16 million in change orders denied by the transit agency in its contract to build three Red Line stations and corridors along Wilshire Boulevard.

Metro countersued in 1999 claiming violations of the false claims act. After a two-month jury trial, a judge terminated the trial, saying Tutor-Saliba had failed to turn over crucial documents. The jury awarded $30 million in damages, which grew to $63 million with other costs and attorneys fees. In 2005, the state Court of Appeal overturned the jury award to the MTA.

During Tuesday's hearing, Eric Shabsis, a spokesman for the newly formed Taxpayers for Integrity in Government, said his organization is concerned about what appears to be a lack of controls in Metro's legal costs.

"Metro needs to get a handle on this serious problem and the wasting of millions of taxpayer dollars," Shabsis said. "It is clear that an independent audit is the only solution and the best way to shine a light on Metro's wasting money on lawsuits and a culture of dragging out lawsuits for years. Metro cannot afford such lavish and excessive legal fees."

Assistant County Counsel Charles Safer, who handles Metro litigation, did not return calls for comment.

During the hearing, several of the supervisors told Shabsis and other speakers that Metro could win $63 million in the Red Line case - money that could be used on other transportation projects.

"Does it at all bother you that it's possible the MTA was defrauded?" Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky asked.

Supervisor Gloria Molina said Metro had no choice to litigate the lawsuit for 15 years because "you can't let somebody kick you around."