After walking away from an On The Money producer after a press conference, Gov. Brown turned back to call him “a clown,” as the CBS13 camera kept rolling.

“We did a story last night on travel abuse,” producer Matt Schrader said. “Are you looking into that at all?”

Gov. Brown told CBS13 he would look into it, stressing he had not heard of the issue On The Money first brought to his office’s attention in mid January.

Schrader told Gov. Brown his office declined to comment on On The Money’s investigation.

“You guys gotta get me the story ahead of time so I can get the answers,” Gov. Brown said.

“We sent it to you a week ago,” said the producer.

“I didn’t see you in my office,” Gov. Brown said, not stopping to answer our questions. “You need to come in person.”

In reality, CBS13′s requests for interview began Jan. 15 and went unreturned until Jan. 23, when the Governor’s office declined our interview and directed us to the very CalVet officials that were the subject of our CalVet Travel Club investigation.

CalVet told CBS13 it wasn’t concerned about its own spending on travel, which goes against Executive Order B-06-11 and banned non-essential travel.

On The Money’s investigation showed how five top officials at the department of veterans affairs have spent $82,000 in 18 months on trips that the Governor himself has defined as unnecessary travel.

Records show the officials took weekend trips to Southern California, where some of them have homes, and many of those trips were for events that are prohibited in an executive order issued by the Governor in 2011.

“Will you look into your own appointees defying your executive order?” Schrader said.

“Which executive order?” Gov. Brown said, again walking away.

Gov. Brown trumpeted the executive order at the time it was issued, promising huge savings to taxpayers.

The Governor’s office told CBS13 the order had saved approximately $85 million in savings and waste.

But when Schrader pressed him about the frequent flier miles being wracked up by his political appointees, he turned back to call out our producer.

“This guy’s a clown here,” he said, pointing at Schrader.

“Will you talk to us?” Schrader responded.

“You make a little appointment, talk to [my assistant], we’ll look at your reports, we’ll do it right.”

The producer agreed and Gov. Brown left.

The Governor’s office is yet to respond to CBS13′s request to interview with Gov. Brown.

SACRAMENTO (CBS13) – If you’re a veteran going to the California Department of Veterans Affairs, good luck finding a parking spot.

“Yeah, it’s happened to me before,” said one disabled visitor who claimed he often has to park farther away and walk across the street on his crutches.

He said it’s because the visitor parking is all taken. On The Money has learned why.

State officials appointed to lead CalVet are parking there instead to avoid paying for parking as other employees do, an On The Money investigation found.

The signs clearly state two-hour visitor parking, but Undersecretary Laurence Gonzales claimed he didn’t see it when an On The Money producer questioned him.

“Do you think that is right for you to be using a visitor spot like this?” the producer asked.

“Probably not, but I do go in and out on business,” said Gonzales, who was appointed to his position by Gov. Jerry Brown in mid 2011. “It is probably a matter of getting to your vehicle so that you don’t have to go find a spot and travel and then come back.”

It’s the second time in a week CalVet officials have made headlines. On Monday, an On The Money investigation uncovered officials appointed by Gov. Brown signing off on each others’ business travel to their Southern California homes.

But some of the same appointees are reaping their own special benefits in Sacramento as well – leaving veterans and visitors with no place to park.

“This doesn’t really look that good,” an On The Money producer said to Gonzales.

“Oh, I’m sorry,” he said. “You said it didn’t look that good. I said I’m sorry.”

CBS13 spotted Gonzales’ Porsche Boxster parked in the front visitor parking spaces every day of the week.

“It doesn’t seem right at all,” one visitor told CBS13.

“That place is there to serve veterans,” said a concerned insider who spoke on condition of anonymity.

The insider said many of the designated visitor spots are being used by department staff, including a car driven by the man in charge of CalVet, Secretary Peter Gravett.

“If you’re the head of the Veterans Affairs agency, you should definitely put veterans first,” he said.

Deputy Secretary J.P. Tremblay, also appointed by Gov. Brown, doesn’t see a problem, he said.

“There are 30 to 40 parking spots in front of the building. At least half of those are empty during any given time,” he told On The Money anchor-reporter Sam Shane.

Actually, there are 17 visitor parking spots in front of CalVet, and on the days we visited, as many as a third of those were being used by state employees.

California Assemblywoman Beth Gaines (Roseville) said it’s another example of state departments putting themselves before the people they serve.

“It’s wrong. It must stop,” she said.

After seeing our footage, Gaines sent a letter to Gov. Brown directly asking him to intervene immediately.

“It’s a terrible example,” she said. “These are state cars and state employees’ cars taking up places of our veterans who have served this country. They should be put first, not last.”

But an order from the governor won’t be necessary for Undersecretary Gonzales, he said.

He will find a new place to park his Boxster.

“Where do you think you’ll be parking?” a producer asked.

“In a spot other than here,” he said.

Although Tremblay defended officials using the visitor parking spaces, Undersecretary Gonzales and Secretary Gravett have stopped parking their vehicles in the visitor lot. Several state vehicles, however, still park in those two-hour visitor spots.

AUBURN (CBS13) — Struggling courts across California are laying off court reporters, unable to afford them, a CBS13 investigation has found.

One reason may be that the state Judicial Branch is spending millions that was intended to fund those reporters.

Those filing for civil court in California are required to pay a “court reporter fee” — part of the larger Uniform Civil Filing Fee collected across the state — but $6.5 million dollars last year went to other expenses, including basic costs like janitors.

“If it weren’t for the janitor then the court might not have stayed open in the first place,” said Zlatko Theodorovic, who oversees finances for the Judicial Council of California — the agency that runs and appropriates funding in courts across the state.

It’s perfectly legal according to government code, he said. The Judicial Council is allowed to take from the court reporter fund to make up for other budget shortages.

Assemblywoman Fiona Ma (D-San Francisco) called the reappropriating of these funds unacceptable.

“If you are paying for something, you expect to get a service,” she said.

Placer County court reporter Pam Katros knows the problems all too well, she said.

She learned this month her job may be eliminated, as the county plans to privatize its court reporters for civil cases.

“It’s crazy, what’s happening,” she said.

CBS13 has learned layoffs are happening across the state from courts in San Francisco and San Diego to San Joaquin, Alameda, Ventura and Los Angeles counties — which have all laid off court reporters in the last year.

But litigants are still required to pay the court reporter fee in those courts — and if they want a record of what happens, they’ll have to hire their own reporter at their own expense.

Katros believes it could result in a two-tied system — those who can afford access to transcripts and those who cannot, she said.

“It’s not fair, and people are going to be hurt by this,” she said.

The Judicial Branch blames Gov. Jerry Brown’s budget — which cut Judicial Branch funding 15 percent this year.

“We wouldn’t have these problems if we didn’t have the money crunch,” Theodorovic said, adding that the agency only took about 20 percent of the total money generated by court reporter fees.

Because court reporter fees are mandatory, however, Ma believes court reporters should be the last thing to go — ensuring access to justice, she said.

“People should care whether their proceeding is going to be recorded or not recorded,” Ma said.

“It’s embarrassing to me,” Katros said. “To think that we’ve gotten to where we are.”

The Judicial Council told CBS13 it plans to continue taking some of that court reporter money to cover other budget cuts and will continue to charge those court reporter fees.

SACRAMENTO (CBS13) – There are new developments on one of California’s top tax deadbeats – a story that On The Money first reported three weeks ago.

Lyon’s of Californian still owes $4 million in back taxes, according to the Board of Equalization.

CBS13 revisited the restaurant, seeking answers. The manager there told us to contact the owner – and later we received a phone call from David Nguyen, who identified himself as the new owner of Lyons Restaurant in Sacramento. Nguyen sent us a document showing he bought the restaurant on J Street back in 2009, clear of any tax liens.

Nguyen told us the debt belongs to the previous owners – and said his company owes nothing to the State of California.

The former owners of Lyon’s did not return our phone calls.

But current customers told us those back taxes are important to California’s economy.

“They should pay like everybody else and pay their taxes,” said Maria Sorber. “I just paid mine,” she added.

“They’ve been here for a long time though so it’s sad,” said Judy Jasperson. “But I guess it’s the economy.”

That $4 million in back taxes could provide free tuition for 670 college students at Sacramento State (tuition is $5,970 per student for 2012-13) – or 328 students at UC Davis (tuition is $12,192 according to figures provided by the Department of Finance).

“It seems like they need to stay on top of their bills also,” said Jose Moyo, another Lyons customer.

Meanwhile the landscape around Lyon’s will soon be changing. CBS 13 has obtained a copy of a building permit containing plans for new investors to pump in more than half a million dollars, the new owner told CBS13, to convert the eatery into another restaurant – Mel’s Diner – before summer.

Mel’s is a 1950s style restaurant.

So how will California collect the $4 million owed in back taxes from the previous owners? The Board of Equalization has already placed a tax lien on them – and they can also enforce the lien against their homes in case they try to sell or refinance. And starting in July, state agencies can revoke drivers’ licenses and occupational licenses for anyone who name appears on the list of the 500 top tax deadbeats.

CBS13 has learned that Garden Valley Fire Chief Bill Dekker is under investigation by the El Dorado County District Attorney’s Office.

In an interview with CBS13, District Attorney Vern Pierson told On The Money he has opened a criminal investigation focusing on the fire chief’s purchases on the fire department’s credit card.

CBS13 has obtained copies of the questionable credit card billings, which include $3,400 in charges to something called Willingness to Change – a drug and alcohol treatment center – according to the website.

Fire Chief Bill Dekker (credit: gardenvalleyfire.org)

“I’ve never seen anything like that in my 17 years as county auditor,” said Joe Harn, El Dorado County’s fiscal watchdog.

Harn has been scrutinizing the Garden Valley Fire Protection District’s spending and credit card purchases.

“I don’t understand why it would be the burden of the taxpayers in Garden Valley to pick up this $3,400 charge for alcohol and or drug counseling,” Harn told CBS 13.

CBS13 tried reaching the Garden Valley fire chief in person – and found the station door wide open – and no one appeared to be on duty.

“Hello, anybody home?” the reporter asked out loud.

Chief Dekker did not respond to phone calls at the fire station – or at his home in Greenwood. The Garden Valley Fire District Board was also silent on the matter.

CBS13 wanted to know why the board chose a chief with a checkered past – that includes a drunken driving arrest while Dekker was on duty as a fire chief in Nevada. Dekker “admitted drinking and hitting (a) victim with fire truck while driving”, according to the arrest report from the Lyon County Sheriff’s Office, as documented in Case #96-0361.

Dekker was charged with driving under the influence, paid a $750 fine and completed a DUI workshop, according to court documents from Case #96-20021. Court records also show Dekker pled no contest to disorderly conduct charges in Arizona, resulting in his resignation as fire chief there, according to newspaper reports.

CBS13 found other questionable purchases on Chief Dekker’s Garden Valley Fire District credit card, including an $85 charge at a Good Feet store in Santa Barbara and a $34 charge at a Payless Shoe store in Placerville.

The El Dorado County auditor calls those purchases very unusual. Chief Dekker isn’t talking about any of his charges – but Garden Valley residents are beginning to wonder.

“That’s wrong,” said Melvin Howard, a Garden Valley resident.

“Yeah, it needs to be looked into a little bit to say the least,” said Lew Price, another Garden Valley resident.

The county auditor has already refused to issue $131,000 in other payments to the Garden Valley Fire Department – citing a breach of contract. As for the credit card purchases, Joe Harn says he has no control over that.

“There is a significant financial management problem at Garden Valley Fire,” Harn told CBS13.

“We opened a criminal investigation to look into this further,” District Attorney Pierson told CBS13.

SACRAMENTO (CBS13) – Imagine being paid hundreds of thousands of dollars to stay away from work – well it happened to a local college president who is now staying home, while taxpayers are footing the bill.

The students at San Joaquin Delta College are learning a valuable lesson on how to fight back.

“Five hundred thousand was taken from us.” That’s Bronche Taylor’s opinion. As the student body vice-president, Taylor is upset over the loss of the college’s big money maker – weekend flea markets that generated cash for student activities, until the administration seized control.

Students put the blame on Jeff Marsee, the former president of San Joaquin Delta College in Stockton.

“Dr. Marsee came in without having a conversation with us the students,” said Nicholas Aguiree, the student body president. Aguiree added, “He stripped away the flea market, which for over 30 years was the way students funded scholarships.”

Marsee also made enemies with the faculty. In fact 96% of the instructors voted “no confidence” in the school president.

“He was manipulative to a degree that was stunning,” said Dr. William Ferraiolo, a philosophy professor at the college.

“Presidents come and go but for him to do so much against our college in eight months, that just shows how really bad it was,” noted Dr. Elizabeth Maloney, a psychology professor at the school.

It got so bad, Maloney said, that the Board of Trustees voted unanimously to put the president on paid leave – before eventually terminating his contract. Marsee is now expected to collect an estimated $353,000 to stay away from campus.

“And that’s very unfortunate, “stated Bronche Taylor. The student body vice president added, “I feel that money could be used to bring back some of the programs that have been cut, some of the classes that have been cut.”

All this – following a nationwide search for a college president who lasted less than a year. And yet there were warning signs about Marsee – signs the college overlooked.

. “I think that our board might have been misled,” stated Diane Oren, an English professor at the school.

Diane Oren was on the search committee to find a college president. She told CBS 13 the search consultants instructed committee members not to do any background checks.

“Not to Google or to interview or to ask questions of other campuses, which I think was a big red flag,” said Oren.

Red flags showing that Marsee left two other colleges in California in a sea of controversy before landing at San Joaquin Delta College, where faculty members openly wonder why school administrators didn’t do their homework.

“You might want to do a background check, find out,” said Diane Oren, the English professor.

Jeff Marsee did not respond to CBS 13’s requests for an interview. College administrators also declined to be interviewed for this report. The Board of Trustees voted on March 2 to release Jeff Marsee from his contract, but not before agreeing to pay him $353,000, for which taxpayers are ultimately responsible.

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