May 31, 2011 11:00:00 PM
Appeal-Democrat staff report
Sutter County Auditor-Controller Robert Stark has sued the county, seeking to be repaid for legal expenses he incurred while being investigated by the county grand jury.
According to the suit, filed last week in Sutter County Superior Court, Stark is seeking between $10,000 and $25,000 in recovered legal costs.
The suit stems from April 2009, when Stark approved a request from then-Treasurer-Tax Collector Jim Stevens to change accounting and provide relief for a tax revenue shortage Stevens discovered. The county counsel also found the request valid.
Afterward, according to the suit, Stark learned he was being investigated by the county grand jury over the change, and requested legal representation from the county.
The county denied the request in May 2010, then supervisors denied a claim for reimbursement from Stark last November.
A Sacramento attorney listed as Stark's legal representative did not return a call for comment Tuesday. Sutter County spokesman Chuck Smith said the county doesn't comment on pending litigation.
Stark did not end up facing charges or other court proceedings as a result of the investigation, though he is facing a felony trial for suspicion of misappropriation of funds stemming from a 2005 grand jury investigation.
That case is with the California Supreme Court, which is set to rule on the validity of Stark's indictment within the next two months. In 2006, another county grand jury issued two felony indictments against Stark on suspicion of filing false versions of the county budget.
A separate grand jury report earlier this year cleared Stark of wrongdoing in the release of county employee salary information to a private individual, stating the information was public record.
Stark has also requested reimbursement for legal costs annually as part of the county's budget process.
http://www.appeal-democrat.com/news/county-107242-stark-legal.html
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