In December of 2009, the Riverside County District Attorney’s office will be celebrating as it opens the most expensive building ever constructed in the Inland Empire. The approximate $128 million price-tag demonstrates that the DA in Riverside County has tremendous political power. At a time when courts are closing for furlough days, the third Wednesday of every month, in an effort to save precious dollars, the beautiful new building featuring copious amounts of marble can be seen as an extension of the political power and ego that the current District Attorney clearly possesses.
The California Taxpayers’ Association is a non-partisan, non-profit organization founded in 1926 to protect taxpayers from unnecessary taxes and to promote government efficiency. Their website, Cal-Tax.org, which highlights recent examples of Government waste, fraud, and mismanagement, referred to the opening of the new DA’s office as a “good-news, bad-news” story. The good news being that when the Riverside County District Attorney’s Office moves to its new headquarters, offices will be equipped with used furniture rather than brand new desks, chairs, etc. Buying used furniture will save approximately $5.1 million, the county reported. District Attorney Rod Pacheco had advocated saving even more by simply moving the office furniture from the existing offices, but county facilities managers decided that the old furniture is in such bad condition it could break, and the time frame for the installation of furniture is very tight.
The website cited the bad news was that during a time when all levels of government should be tightening their belts, the District Attorney’s Office is moving into a $129 million new building with lots of marble. (Cal-Tax: From a management perspective, it may make sense to consolidate the staff in one office, instead of having them spread across a dozen offices in the county, as they are now. Still, it seems like there might be other, higher priorities for the county at this time.) (Source: Riverside Press-Enterprise, July 20).
In any event, there is no question that moving into such a posh new building, clearly the newest and most expensive structure in the county demonstrates that the DA is “wearing the pants” in Riverside County. With this in mind, if you live in Riverside County, you might want to think twice before breaking the law…..
If you or a loved one has been charged with a criminal matter in Riverside, it is important you talk to an experienced Riverside criminal defense attorney. At Wallin & Klarich, our attorneys have over 30 years of experience in dealing with all types of criminal matters. Our attorneys will provide aggressive representation for your case. Call us at 888-280-6839 or visit us on our website at www.wklaw.com. We will be there when you call.
