State Attorney General ends probe into OC District Attorney

SANTA ANA, Calif. (AP) State Attorney General Bill Lockyer has ended a probe into allegations that Orange County District Attorney Tony Rackauckas abused his power by interfering in cases, punishing enemies and rewarding friends and contributors.

``We looked into whether there were criminal deeds, and we found none,'' Lockyer told the Los Angeles Times in an article published Saturday. ``Our job is basically completed.''

With Lockyer's decision, the eight-month long probe by a grand jury comes to end. The county Board of Supervisors decided earlier in the week not to take action and forward the jury's report to Lockyer.

``We are pleased that the attorney general is confirming this matter is over and there is no evidence to support any criminal misconduct,'' Rackauckas said.

Lockyer did, however, caution Rackauckas, saying the district attorney has made some ``bad management decisions'' and his office is beset with morale problems.

``He suffers from a problem I've seen with judges who were used to being kings of the courtroom they aren't good team-builders,'' Lockyer said. ``The smartest thing a politician can do is admit mistakes and move on. It's too bad that hasn't happened.''

The harshest of the grand jury's 92 findings was that Rackauckas helped campaign contributors in three cases being handled by his office, hired politically connected job applicants over better-qualified candidates and used public resources for personal business.

Rackauckas, who was elected district attorney in 1998, said the grand jury performed an incomplete investigation and was swayed by the testimony of his political enemies.

(Copyright 2002 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)