Ex Yuba official sues for $1.5 million,
department report findings hush-hush
Sac Bee Excloo
MARYSVLLE 6/11/02 (YSN) -- Ex-Yuba health director Mike Noda said Tuesday he is seeking $1.5 million in damages from the county board of supervisors, which he alleges sacked him for reporting suspected crimes to state investigators.
Meanwhile, county officials are refusing to discuss the findings of a private investigation into activities at the Health and Human Services Department, which the supervisors commissioned after disciplining Noda.
Noda was put on paid administrative in late February and fired in April after asking the state Bureau of Narcotics Enforcement in January to review how county Public Health Officer Dr. Joseph Cassady distributed drugs, notably methadone.
Supervisors allegedly violated his First Amendment rights by retaliating against him for reporting his suspicions as he was legally required to do under state law, Noda said.
They harassed him further by rejecting his offer to resign from his $92,000-a-year post in June in favor of canning him immediately. Noda has since started a consulting firm.
The government tort claim Noda filed last week has yet to be acted on, County Administrator Kent McClain, said.
If the supervisors do not accept the claim, a formal lawsuit will be filed in federal court, Noda's lawyer, Steve Wattenberg pledged.
Along with Noda, two other top Health Department managers were placed on paid administrative leave in connection with the Cassady controversy.
Beverly Craig and Carolyn Williams filed separate claims against the county earlier, and those have been denied.
However, they have not been fired and remain on paid administrative leave, according to Wattenberg, who also represents the two women.
BNE investigators following up on Noda's request cleared Cassady of any wrongdoing. Their probe focused solely on criminal concerns, not civil issues, a BNE's two-page report stated.
While being investigated by the BNE, Cassady was at the same time helping the state Attorney General to prosecute his former business partners in a Marysville methadone clinic for alleged Medi-Cal fraud. That case remains pending in Sacramento County Superior Court.
Within hours disciplining Noda, Williams and Craig, the county announced it had retained a San Mateo law firm to investigate activities and procedures at the Health Department.
County computer technicians swooped into Health Department offices at the Peach Tree Mall facility, carting off hard drives and paper files.
"We immediately notified the county of our concerns about spoliation of evidence. They've promised us they'll preserve copies of everything for us," Wattenberg said.
McClain and County Counsel Dan Montgomery both declined to discuss the findings of the hush-hush departmental report.
"I'm recommending the supervisors not talk about it, either, Montgomery said.
"If they'd found anything to support them, Williams and Craig wouldn't still be collecting full pay and full benefits," Wattenberg said.
None of the several recent departures reported in the troubled Health Department were connected with the Noda controversy, McClain said.
The five lay-offs in the department's drug treatment program announced last week were due to "unrealistic projections of anticipated revenues," McClain said. He declined to comment on claims that a full-scale shake-up was underway.
department report findings hush-hush
Sac Bee Excloo
MARYSVLLE 6/11/02 (YSN) -- Ex-Yuba health director Mike Noda said Tuesday he is seeking $1.5 million in damages from the county board of supervisors, which he alleges sacked him for reporting suspected crimes to state investigators.
Meanwhile, county officials are refusing to discuss the findings of a private investigation into activities at the Health and Human Services Department, which the supervisors commissioned after disciplining Noda.
Noda was put on paid administrative in late February and fired in April after asking the state Bureau of Narcotics Enforcement in January to review how county Public Health Officer Dr. Joseph Cassady distributed drugs, notably methadone.
Supervisors allegedly violated his First Amendment rights by retaliating against him for reporting his suspicions as he was legally required to do under state law, Noda said.
They harassed him further by rejecting his offer to resign from his $92,000-a-year post in June in favor of canning him immediately. Noda has since started a consulting firm.
The government tort claim Noda filed last week has yet to be acted on, County Administrator Kent McClain, said.
If the supervisors do not accept the claim, a formal lawsuit will be filed in federal court, Noda's lawyer, Steve Wattenberg pledged.
Along with Noda, two other top Health Department managers were placed on paid administrative leave in connection with the Cassady controversy.
Beverly Craig and Carolyn Williams filed separate claims against the county earlier, and those have been denied.
However, they have not been fired and remain on paid administrative leave, according to Wattenberg, who also represents the two women.
BNE investigators following up on Noda's request cleared Cassady of any wrongdoing. Their probe focused solely on criminal concerns, not civil issues, a BNE's two-page report stated.
While being investigated by the BNE, Cassady was at the same time helping the state Attorney General to prosecute his former business partners in a Marysville methadone clinic for alleged Medi-Cal fraud. That case remains pending in Sacramento County Superior Court.
Within hours disciplining Noda, Williams and Craig, the county announced it had retained a San Mateo law firm to investigate activities and procedures at the Health Department.
County computer technicians swooped into Health Department offices at the Peach Tree Mall facility, carting off hard drives and paper files.
"We immediately notified the county of our concerns about spoliation of evidence. They've promised us they'll preserve copies of everything for us," Wattenberg said.
McClain and County Counsel Dan Montgomery both declined to discuss the findings of the hush-hush departmental report.
"I'm recommending the supervisors not talk about it, either, Montgomery said.
"If they'd found anything to support them, Williams and Craig wouldn't still be collecting full pay and full benefits," Wattenberg said.
None of the several recent departures reported in the troubled Health Department were connected with the Noda controversy, McClain said.
The five lay-offs in the department's drug treatment program announced last week were due to "unrealistic projections of anticipated revenues," McClain said. He declined to comment on claims that a full-scale shake-up was underway.
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