Audit: Mendocino DA spent seized-asset cash on a steakhouse dinner and a church school
A California State Auditor report on Mendocino County (2025-049), issued Dec. 18, 2025, found the District Attorney's Office used $3,600 in asset forfeiture funds for an end-of-year staff dinner that auditors consider a gift of public funds, and that the DA's Office and the Sheriff's Office each gave $5,000 of forfeiture money to a local religiously affiliated school in February 2024, which auditors believe violated state and federal constitutional bans. KZYX reported the Feb. 2025 dinner at a Redwood Valley steakhouse drew 72 people including spouses, and that District Attorney David Eyster labeled it a staff workshop. The Sheriff's Office agreed with the auditor's conclusions; the DA's Office disagreed. The auditor recommended the county adopt a forfeiture-spending policy with annual public reporting. The audit also found persistent deficits and 2024 ballot errors.
It seems like the district attorney was thumbing his nose at everybody by continuing a dinner that had been questioned,
the California State Auditor to perform an audit of Mendocino County.
the Sheriff's Office and the District Attorney's Office each made a $5,000 donation of asset forfeiture funds to a local religiously affiliated school in February 2024.
The DA's Office expressed disagreement with the auditor's conclusions about its operations.
Expressed disagreement with the auditor's conclusions about its operations.
Agreed with the auditor's conclusions.
No outcome recorded yet.