A Riverside County grand jury
will not investigate Palm Springs Mayor Steve Pougnet’s business ties to a
local developer because other agencies are already probing the matter,
according to a letter obtained Tuesday by The Desert Sun.
Former City Council candidate
and longtime Pougnet foe Eloise Mohsin asked the grand jury to probe the
mayor’s ties to Richard Meaney, a local developer. Pougnet joined other city
leaders in voting to sell land to Meaney in December despite earning more than
$200,000 consulting for a company Meaney founded.
Pougnet has since said he made
a mistake when voting to sell the land to Meaney and investor Yokang Zhou. The
sale was part of the City Council’s “consent agenda,” a lengthy list of items
officials typically approve in one motion with little or no discussion.
The mayor recused himself when
his colleagues rescinded that sale in May.
The state Fair Political
Practices Commission is investigating whether Pougnet violated California’s
political ethics law by taking part in that vote.
The grand jury “does not take
action on matters pending before other investigative agencies,” according to
the letter to Mohsin dated Aug. 10. “Therefore, no action will be taken.”
Pougnet could not be reached
for comment Tuesday.
Palm Springs Mayor Steve
Pougnet responds to critics of his ties with Nexus developer Richard Meaney at
council meeting. (May 20, 2015) Jay Calderon/The Desert Sun
The mayor has declined to
specify what sort of consulting work he did for Meaney’s firm Union Abbey,
other than to say it involved telling Meaney about economic development efforts
in Palm Springs. Pougnet began working for the firm in 2013. In April, the
mayor announced he had ended his business relationship with Meaney.
The state Franchise Tax Board
suspended Union Abbey in 2009, and the company owed nearly $50,000 in unpaid
taxes as recently as June.
The mayor is not seeking a
third term in office — a decision he said he made before The Desert Sun raised
questions about his business ties to Meaney.
In June, Riverside County
District Attorney Mike Hestrin declined to say whether his office had received
complaints about Pougnet’s potential conflict of interest, emphasizing discretion
while acknowledging the mayor’s ties to Meaney “brought up a lot of questions.”
August 19, 2015
The
Desert Sun
By Kia
Farhang
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