Public official fired for mishandling the estate of TapouT co-founder “Mask”

Story By: The Orange County Register, full article here "New public guardian named to troubled agency"

(Excerpt below)

"Orange County Public Administrator John S. Williams was fired by the Board of Supervisors from his appointed job as the county’s public guardian last month after being hounded by accusations of mismanagement, questionable promotions and a claim filed against the county that accuses Williams of negligence in the handling of the multimillion dollar estate of TapouT co-founder Charles “Mask” Lewis Jr.

Assistant Public Administrator/Public Guardian Peggi Buff has already been removed from her position as a result of the county’s investigation into the department.

Orange County’s Public Administrator/Public Guardian has been a department under so much fire county supervisors voted to split it into two departments; approved a ballot measure that gives voters the option to make the public administrator an appointed, not an elected position; and repealed a county ordinance that makes the elected public administrator the ex-officio appointed public guardian.

Williams has denied any wrongdoing. The county spent months slowly stripping control of the departments from Williams while he refused to step down.

Williams remains the county’s elected public administrator. Williams is paid $153,206.40 a year to head the combined Public Administrator/Public Guardian departments – a paycheck he will keep despite losing half of his job. Longtime county watchdog Shirley Grindle argued that paying Williams for his public guardian role is an illegal gift of taxpayer funds since Williams is not doing the job he is being paid to do."