I-Team uncovers cost of CVWD sex scandal investigation
UPDATE: Shortly after the time of this story’s initial publication, the Coachella Valley Water District reached out to News Channel 3 notifying the news team that the prior financial documents had been sent in error. The news team is currently analyzing new financial documents and will have an update on the financial totals Thursday.
***
The average increase approved by the CVWD board in June is less than $2 a month to customers and covers a mandated reserve plus infrastructure projects.
But it comes on top of new figures that show just how much money the government agency spent to look into shocking claims about employees sleeping with each other at district headquarters during work hours.
CVWD employed attorney Susan Wooley from the Association of Workplace Investigators to look into the claims made by CVWD meter reader Alfonso Cruz in a civil lawsuit.
Cruz claimed that his supervisor Raul Aguirre bullied and threatened him into having an affair with Aguirre’s wife Gabriela, who worked in CVWD’s human resources department.
Invoices obtained by News Channel 3’s I-Team show since February, Wooley billed the district for more than 209 hours at a cost of $315 per hour. CVWD has paid Wooley at least $74,858.25 so far to investigate the matter.
The CVWD Board of Directors has discussed the lawsuit filed by Cruz at least three times during closed session but has publicly declined to comment due to the ongoing litigation.
Armen Zenjiryan, who co-represents Cruz in his civil case, said Cruz was fired last week “in a further act of retaliation.”
Zenjiryan also said the Aguirres no longer work at CVWD.
The district had previously said the Aguirres were on paid leave.
CVWD Board Members did not return a request for comment on the impact of this type of litigation and investigation on ratepayers.
