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Grenell Calls Out Bass-Appointed L.A. Fire Recovery Chief for $500K 3-Month Salary: ‘Gross, Offensiv

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mystery-ak:
Grenell Calls Out Bass-Appointed L.A. Fire Recovery Chief for $500K 3-Month Salary: ‘Gross, Offensive’

Olivia Rondeau 8 Feb 2025

Ric Grenell, President Donald Trump’s Envoy for Special Missions, slammed Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass’s (D) fire “recovery czar” for his large three-month salary of $500,000 paid by charity groups.

Bass announced former L.A. police commissioner Steve Soboroff as the head of the rebuilding efforts following the devastating fires that destroyed homes and businesses and claimed at least 29 lives over a three-week period.

Soboroff will be “paid $500,000 over three months, with funding coming from charitable groups,” the Los Angeles Times reported.

Real estate executive Randy Johnson, who worked with Soboroff in developing the ritzy Playa Vista neighborhood in the Westside area of L.A., will receive $250,000 from charity groups over the 90-day period as he helps with the recovery efforts.

Grenell, a longtime Trump ally, blasted the news on X:


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https://twitter.com/RichardGrenell/status/1888258085522997632

more
https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2025/02/08/grenell-calls-out-bass-appointed-la-fire-recovery-chief-500k-3-month-salary-gross-offensive/

mystery-ak:
L.A. Mayor Bass Hires Illinois Consulting Firm Led by Far-Left Politician to Support Fire ‘Recovery Process’

Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass (D) has brought in an Illinois consulting firm headed by a far-left politician who took part in a George Soros-funded mayors’ program, appointed his city’s first chief equity officer, and signed a resolution to recognize that his city’s land was stolen from Native Americans by “white colonizers” to help the post-fire recovery process.

https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2025/02/08/la-mayor-bass-hires-illinois-consulting-firm-led-by-far-left-politician-to-support-fire-recovery-process/

mystery-ak:
Steve Soboroff Agrees to Work for Free, After $500,000 Salary Exposed

Los Angeles “Chief Recovery Officer” Steve Soboroff said Saturday night that he would work for free, after coming under fire for earning $500,000 for three months of work, even though his salary was to have been paid privately.

https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2025/02/09/steve-soboroff-agrees-work-for-free-after-500000-salary-exposed/

mystery-ak:
Joel B. Pollak 10 Feb 2025

Two former disaster recovery experts at Hagerty Consulting, which L.A. Mayor Karen Bass appointed to lead rebuilding efforts after the recent wildfires, pleaded guilty in 2022 and 2023 to defrauding New York City of Hurricane Sandy relief funds.

Walter Melnick, who had been hired as a contractor for Evanston, Illinois-based Hagerty Consulting firm, was accused in 2022 of having claimed lodging reimbursements to which he was not entitled, and of making false statements to investigators.

Melnick was described in a press release by another firm as having “managed New York City’s post-Sandy $15 billion recovery program” while at Hagerty. He has since evidently retired from the industry.

Another then-Hagerty consultant, Mark O’Mara, was accused of claiming more than $250,000 in reimbursements to which he was not entitled, and of trying to destroy evidence.

Both pleaded guilty after reaching plea agreements.

Melnick was sentenced to a year of home confinement, plus two additional years of probation. O’Mara was sentenced to probation. Both had to pay back the total money they had received unlawfully (over $380,000 and over $250,000, respectively).

A press statement by the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York in 2022 described the charges against Melnick:

https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2025/02/10/former-lead-recovery-consultants-at-hagerty-firm-hired-by-bass-pleaded-guilty-to-stealing-disaster-funds/

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