
Lt. Andrew Porter, the lead investigator in the felony prosecution of suspended Auditor Chamise Cubbison, acknowledged Tuesday that her former boss played a larger role in the high-profile case than originally presented publicly.
Porter testified that now-retired Auditor Lloyd Weer regularly signed off on department payroll documents during a two-year period when Paula June Kennedy, the county’s former Payroll Manager and Cubbison’s co-defendant, was drawing disputed extra pay by using an obscure pay code designated for miscellaneous office spending.
Weer retired in September 2021 but was brought back into the office as a consultant with Board of Supervisors’ approval to help out in an office under stress because of a faulty computer system, understaffing, and talk of a forced consolidation with the Treasurer-Tax Collector’s Office.
Weer in earlier testimony has acknowledged Kennedy single-handedly processed a county payroll for 1,200 employees, and that the demands on her time and mental state were great. Weer also has admitted to having had numerous conversations with Kennedy, Cubbison, and county administrators about what could be done to ease the on-the-job burdens that led to Kennedy’s decision to pay herself about $68,000 in extra pay over a three-month period during the Covid pandemic.
District Attorney David Eyster, a chronic critic of the Auditor’s Office because it questioned his own spending, seized upon the extra pay to accuse Cubbison and Kennedy of criminal misappropriation of public funds.
Cubbison maintains that she believed Weer and Kennedy, longtime office associates, had arranged for the extra pay. She cites notations on a Kennedy spreadsheet stating, “per Lloyd” or “per Lloyd/Chamise.”
Kennedy contends it was Cubbison who gave her the nod to use the 470 pay code but refused to put the authorization in writing. The 470 code is designated for miscellaneous expenses, allowed within the department and without board approval if kept under $1,000.
Porter admitted under questioning by defense attorneys Fred McCurry and Chris Andrian that Weer was never seen as a suspect in the criminal case despite his active role in the internal struggle to compensate Kennedy for the hours everyone agrees she was putting in handling a complex payroll during a difficult time.
Weer was never the focus of the criminal investigation handled by Porter, a 30-year law enforcement veteran, and pushed by DA Eyster.
Weer, according to Porter’s testimony on Tuesday, was always seen as a potential witness, a “good guy” who was allowed to have his wife Judy present while he was being interviewed. Investigators typically do not allow that unless it is an individual’s attorney. Weer in fact at a follow up visit by Porter asked if he needed to retain an attorney.
Weer has acknowledged meeting with Kennedy about her pay demands, and that he later told the investigator, “Gee, I hope I didn’t say something that made her think I approved,” according to Porter.
“Did that give you pause? Did that not indicate perhaps a closer look at his role,” asked Andrian, Cubbison’s attorney.
Porter replied, “No.”
Porter also acknowledged meeting with DA Eyster more than a dozen times during his investigation, and that it was more than a year before the District Attorney’s Office formally filed the charges.
Kennedy lawyer Fred McCurry, a county Public Defender, pressed Porter to explain why he focused only on Kennedy as the initial suspect, and then later Cubbison although both were cooperative.
Porter said he learned of deep divisions between Cubbison and Kennedy, who ignored Weer’s role and put the blame entirely on Cubbison and called her a “lying bitch” during one interview.
Porter said he eventually began to see Cubbison as a possible suspect but never Weer.
Porter also said his investigation showed that Cubbison never personally benefitted from the extra money Kennedy paid herself. He also acknowledged that his investigation showed that no one believed Kennedy was getting paid for work not done.
The preliminary hearing will resume Wednesday before Judge Ann Moorman in Mendocino County Superior Court. At its conclusion, Moorman will decided whether to let the controversial case go to trial, or grant defense attorneys’ moves for dismissal.
Cubbison never benefitted!! Not from paying Kennedy and not from questioning Eysters spending! She was doing her job! While trying to deal with a terrible budget! Obscure codes are for obscure purposes!!
Mendo only needs 8100 (give or take) signatures to initiate a recall election?
Eyster sounds like he was on a personal vendetta and misuing his position of power. The California Bar should be following this.
Supporting this mockery. All of the waste. The circus dog and pony show. Moorman allowing the lies and smoke n mirrors show as testimony when BLATANT LIES WERE TOLD. Defending defenseless, deplorable County. actions as normal practice for the higher ups and DA. Purgery comes to mind. Falsifying or manipulating evidence comes to the forefront in this matter. Enough is gosh darn enough. Mendocino County Courts WAKE THE HECK UP!!!
Mendocino County needs to bring back the Stocks and put Eyster in one.
Dismiss the case. Focus on Eyster and the spineless supervisors and ceo that went along with his plan. This whole fiasco is costing the county money that could have gone to raises for it’s employees. Pathetic.
“District Attorney David Eyster, a chronic critic of the Auditor’s Office because it questioned his own spending, seized upon the extra pay to accuse Cubbison and Kennedy of criminal misappropriation of public funds.”
The Dirtiest DA and Civil Forfeiture profiteer in all of CA.