Water District Lawyer's Contract Raises Questions

The Sacramento Bee reports:

A lawyer and lobbyist whose alleged improprieties previously grabbed headlines statewide is once again the focus of scrutiny, this time for his work at the tiny Rio Linda-Elverta Community Water District.

Three months ago, the water district board approved a contract with attorney Ravi Mehta that includes fees of $305 an hour and a provision potentially requiring the district to pay Mehta hundreds of thousands of dollars if it stops using his services.

There's more:

In 2001, Mehta agreed to pay a $23,000 fine to the FPPC for, among other things, misusing campaign funds to refurbish his Porsche.

In 2002, he grabbed headlines after then-Gov. Gray Davis' computer adviser admitted to taking a $25,000 campaign donation from Mehta – then a lobbyist for Oracle Corp. – just days after the state signed a $95 million, no-bid contract with the firm for database software. No action was taken against Mehta. The Davis aide was fired and the Oracle contract canceled.