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Former county planner arrested for alleged forgery of documents

LOS ANGELES (AP) A former county planner who has been under investigation for more than a year was arrested for allegedly falsifying public records in a land fraud case.

Emmett Taylor, 64, was arrested Wednesday as he returned to his Orange County home from knee surgery, authorities said. He was charged with 97 counts of forgery and falsification of public records. Taylor was booked into the jail ward at County-USC Medical Center.

County officials said Taylor issued hundreds of illegal certificates allowing land to be developed without the proper environmental and public review. Authorities said Taylor issued the documents, known as certificates of compliance, in exchange for bribes.

Taylor was fired by the county in late 2000 after auditors reviewed 57 certificates he issued and found that all of them were falsified, court documents show.

Planning officials allege Taylor issued the phony certificates to landowners in various rural areas of the county, including the Antelope and Santa Clarita valleys.

The county has spent more than $300,000 to fund a task force that is reviewing the more than 1,000 certificates Taylor issued. In several cases, the county has forced property owners to halt construction and reapply for permits.

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