LAKEPORT, Calif. – A 20-year veteran of the Lake County Sheriff’s Office was reinstated over the summer after he and his attorney said he was the victim of an unlawful termination by the county’s sheriff, who is accused of engaging in personal retaliation.
Tom Andrews and attorney Sean Currin successfully fought Andrews’ August 2011 termination, with the Board of Supervisors voting unanimously at its June 26 meeting to uphold an arbitrator’s decision to reinstate him.
This week Currin released a statement about the case on Andrews’ behalf, pointing out that the board’s decision brought to an end a long and painful ordeal for Andrews, who had spent the majority of his career working at the sheriff’s office before he suffered a back injury in January 2011, which necessitated him going on disability.
Andrews, who underwent multi-disk replacement back surgery, was targeted by Rivero, said Currin, with Rivero accusing Andrews of workers' compensation fraud.
“Fortunately for Det. Andrews and the rest of the Lake County Sheriffs Department, the opinion of their megalomaniacal department head is not the last word,” Currin said, adding that Andrews had been vindicated of Rivero’s allegations of dishonesty.
Currin’s statement on Andrews’ case said Rivero interfered with the work of his department administrative staff who were investigating the case, making it clear how he wanted it concluded.
“He is going to be fired,” Rivero reportedly said of Andrews to Capt. Rob Howe, who has since left the department.
In addition, Rivero used information he received from his friend Tom Carter, who was prosecuted and convicted of a federal drug charge – and in whose prosecution Andrews was directly involved – as the basis for action against Andrews.
After the Board of Supervisors found in his favor in June, Andrews’ retirement was put into effect retroactive to the day after his termination August 2011 date.
This is the second time this year that the Board of Supervisors has reinstated an employee terminated by Rivero.
In March, the Board of Supervisors voted unanimously to reinstate correctional officer Melissa Wallahan, who had been terminated in June 2011 for an off-duty legal matter, as Lake County News has reported. She later returned to work.
Rivero will not respond to Lake County News’ requests for comment on stories after he blacklisted the publication last week in retaliation for its coverage of him.
In October 2011, Rivero’s office put out a press release in which he announced the termination of a sheriff’s office employee who he alleged had “engaged in dishonesty” regarding a workers' compensation claim.
Although the press release did not name the individual, Andrews’ case was the only one matching the circumstances outlined in Rivero’s statement, in which he attempted to justify his action with fraud allegations.
Currin credited the Lake County Deputy Sheriff’s Association and the Peace Officers Research Association of California’s Legal Defense Fund for their support of Andrews through the lengthy proceedings.
Background to the case
The injury that caused Andrews to file a workers' compensation claim occurred in January 2011, when he responded to the report of a suspicious death near Upper Lake.
The body of an Upper Lake woman had been discovered in Middle Creek after her husband reported her missing earlier that day.
When the mortuary came to collect the body they showed up with two people, one of whom was eight months pregnant at the time, Currin said. Andrews believed the woman should not have been lifting a heavy body from a creek in her condition and assisted the other mortician with the removal.
In doing so, Andrews significantly injured his back and subsequently filed a legitimate workers' compensation claim, Currin said.
The investigation that was part of Andrews’ appeal process revealed that shortly after he filed his workers' compensation claim, Lt. Brian Martin – who has since left the department – heard Rivero saying that he thought the claim was “bulls**t.”
Rivero believed Andrews timed his claim because he didn't want to work for him and that he wanted to work for former Sheriff Rod Mitchell, according to Currin.
Though Andrews was an outspoken supporter of the former sheriff, Currin said Rivero unjustly made the assumption that Andrews engaged in workers' compensation fraud.
While Andrews was on temporary disability, Currin said Rivero received a phone call from Tom Carter.
Carter told Rivero that Andrews had been bragging that he was out on disability because he didn't like the sheriff. Currin said Carter was “inexplicably” kept from internal affairs investigator Capt. Howe by Rivero and nobody was allowed to contact Carter as part of the investigation.
Direct testimony during the appeal proceedings proved that Andrews not only was never at a sporting event in Ukiah as Carter allegedly stated, but that Andrews was actually responsible for Tom Carter being criminally prosecuted, according to Currin.
In May 2011 Carter entered a guilty plea to one count of distributing or possessing with intent to distribute marijuana in a federal court in San Francisco, according to court records.
Based on the false information given to him by Carter, Rivero contacted York Insurance Services who in turn contacted LACO Investigations to conduct an investigation into Andrews’ workers' compensation claim, Currin said.
Currin said LACO Investigations followed and recorded Andrews' every move for several months. Even after the initial investigation had concluded, at Rivero’s request the Lake County Sheriff’s Office agreed to pay LACO Investigations additional money to continue their surveillance.
Andrews went to all of his doctor appointments and his doctors encouraged him to participate in his day-to-day life, Currin said.
Andrews said during the proceedings that doctors “encouraged me to do that which I am able to do to essentially determine whether I was going to be able to continue my performance as a peace officer. I have always been encouraged, even directly after I had the multi-disk replacement surgery, to go do what you can do … The absolutely worst thing for somebody, as it was relayed to me, who has had the surgery that I had, was to sit on my couch and do nothing."
A ‘biased’ investigation
On April 25, 2011, Andrews was deposed by York Insurance Services regarding his workers' compensation claim. Prior to the deposition, Rivero and the attorney for York Insurance Services viewed several months’ worth of video materials provided by LACO Investigations, Currin said. Andrews testified to the best of his recollection about all different kinds of activities he'd done while off work.
This deposition was the first workers' compensation deposition Rivero had attended involving a Lake County deputy, Currin said.
“The sheriff was so transparent regarding his motivation and clear prejudice against Det. Andrews that he had an administrative investigation and administrative leave paperwork prepared and delivered to Det. Andrews at the workers' compensation deposition alleging dishonesty concerning the very same deposition,” according to Currin.
Currin said all the questions that Andrews was allegedly dishonest about were intentionally nonspecific questions lacking any clarifying followup questions.
In addition, Lake County District Attorney Don Anderson reviewed the charging materials and determined the workers' compensation deposition was intentionally left vague and there were insufficient followup questions to arrive at the truth of the matter, Currin said.
Several weeks later, Howe interviewed Andrews, who Currin said had an opportunity to view the videos and answer any specific questions posed by Howe. Currin said Andrews was never accused of dishonesty based on his interview with Howe.
The Lake County Sheriff’s Office had the medical examiner in Andrews’ workers' compensation case view the surveillance videos and give a medical opinion as to the activities Andrews was engaged in, said Currin.
“This report provided irrefutable medical testimony indicating Det. Andrews was not dishonest regarding his injuries in what he could or couldn't do,” Currin said.
The doctor’s report stated, “I saw nothing in the investigational videos that caused me to conclude that Mr. Andrews was misrepresenting his physical condition.”
Despite having a neutral medical doctor opine that Andrews did not misrepresent his injury, Currin said Rivero made it clear to internal affairs investigator Capt. Howe that he wanted Andrews fired.
Following sheriff’s office policy, Howe forwarded his report to Capt. James Bauman so he could issue a proposed discipline, said Currin. Rivero also approached Bauman – who has since retired from the department – and told him that he needed to propose termination for Andrews.
Rivero subsequently intervened in the process, according to Currin, and served Andrews with a notice of proposed termination.
The case then went to arbitration. Currin said arbitrator John Wormuth determined the sheriff’s office lacked just cause in terminating Andrews’ employment.
In his findings, Wormuth emphasized that the sheriff’s office lacked the requisite proof, noting, “the Department must be able to ‘prove’ the facts on which it bases the discipline; and the Department has been unable to meet its burden of proof.”
The arbitrator took particular offense to Rivero’s conduct during the proceedings, adding, “the investigation conducted by the Department was not fair or impartial and could not reasonably serve to support the discipline of the Grievant.”
In addition, there was significant testimony from former members of the sheriff’s command staff who stated that they believed the sheriff was engaged in unethical activities, Currin said.
“This case seemed to highlight the unequal and biased investigation headed by Sheriff Rivero,” Currin said.
Currin, who works for the Sacramento law firm of Mastagni, Holstedt, Amick, Miller & Johnsen – which represents the Lake County Deputy Sheriff’s Association – said the association expects the sheriff to act fair and unbiased in all investigations.
Should Rivero continue his defiant behavior concerning the constitutionally protected due process rights of the association’s members, “similar results are sure to follow,” said Currin.
Before the Board of Supervisors went into closed session to discuss its final decision on the Andrews case at its June 26 meeting, both Currin and Andrews addressed the board directly.
“My personal opinion about this particular case is that the sheriff was being particularly vindictive towards Mr. Andrews,” Currin said. “The sheriff targeted him.”
Currin added, “Tom is a good man. It is unfair that he had to endure this process.”
Andrews noted that this past April would have marked his 21st year with the sheriff’s office. He said he had never endured anything like what Rivero had put him through.
“It’s been painful for myself and my family,” Andrews said.
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