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UNDERSHERIFF JO ANN GALISKY REQUESTS AUDIT

Michael Webster Investigative Reporter

Undersheriff Jo Ann Galisky of the Orange County Sheriff’s Dept. has requested County Auditor/Controller David Sundstrom to review Sheriff Carona’s recent travel and spending accounts. The request was not based on any suspicion of misspending but it was an act of due diligence in response to questions raised by Supervisor John Moorlach and the news media. However the Journal has learned that the feds are very interested in seeing the results of that audit.

The controversy started when the Board of Supervisors approved the Sheriff and his entourage to travel to Great Britain and France to meet with law enforcement, private sector and government officials on international terrorism and law enforcement issues. Sheriff Carona was to travel to Lyon, France, to meet with Secretary General Ronald Noble of Interpol for a series of classified briefings on intelligence, drug and human trafficking, money laundering and terrorism. According to Carona establishing a direct relationship with Interpol would have provided he and his deputies with direct access to timely intelligence. The Sheriff was to also travel to London to meet with Great Britain’s top metropolitan police agency, Scotland Yard, to be briefed by its commissioners on security operations at London-Heathrow Airport and on the London Underground public transportation system. He was to be given a briefing on the Closed Circuit Television system utilized for security in the greater London area. Upon his return, Sheriff Carona was to provide the Board of Supervisors with a complete report on findings and public safety goals developed from the comprehensive briefings. It’s been reported that the Sheriff may not have actually met with those agencies. See www.ocweekly.com The Journal contacted INTERPOL and was told they have no record of Sheriff Carona meeting with Secretary General Ronald Noble of INTERPOL. However the undersheriff produced a letter from INTERPOL’s Secretary General Ronald Noble which states that he and Sheriff Carona did meet and Galisky provided photo’s allegedly depicting Carona and the Secretary General Ronald Noble’s meeting together. Sheriff's blog: Carona speaks to deputies

Due to the recent indictments against Carona there have arisen real questions about should the Sheriffs department have unfettered access to Interpol’s worldwide international terrorism and law enforcement issues? See: Interpol May Block Orange County Sheriff" Access

Undersheriff Galisky said that the scope of the audit ordered by the county oversight committee is unclear but she is confident in the quality of work the department’s financial services division provides.

Rick Dostal, director of Financial/Administrative Services Division of the Sheriff’s Department said the county routinely audits the department’s finances and to date he is unaware of any findings of corruption or intentional misconduct.

He added that the Sheriff’s Department has 21 budgets with annual expenditures of $707 million.

“We run a transparent operation at the Sheriff’s Department and invite the scrutiny of auditors so long as the demands do not interfere with our mandate to provide public protection. We will provide all of the assistance we are able to the county auditors,” said Undersheriff Galisky. “It is worth mention that none of the federal charges demonstrate any systemic misuse or abuse of department funds. My hope is that the auditor will give top priority to the review I recommended to him,” she said. “I believe the concerns and questions raised could have been easily resolved through a

simple call to the department, however, I welcome this review in order to put the public’s mind at ease,” Undersheriff Galisky said.