State ethics enforcers will investigate the Modesto Irrigation District’s Larry Byrd, the California Fair Political Practices Commission has confirmed in a letter to state Sen. Marie Alvarado-Gil.
She submitted a sworn complaint against Byrd for participating in a Dec. 16 MID board vote to end an investigation into himself, The Modesto Focus reported Jan. 13.
An ethics expert equated Byrd’s vote with violating the public trust.
MID leadership had commissioned an investigation that suggested Byrd must have misused district water on almond trees outside district boundaries near La Grange.
Some board directors felt the investigation was incomplete, but Byrd’s vote killed any chance of continuing it.
The FPPC will notify Alvarado-Gil when its investigation is complete, its Jan. 29 letter said.
“I fully support the FPPC process to conduct an independent investigation and come to a binding decision in this matter,” the senator said Feb. 5 in a statement.