Former finance director had a financial stake in businesses that serviced city fleet vehicles
For years, Beaumont sent its police cars and other city vehicles for new tires or other repair and maintenance work to two auto shops about a block from City Hall.
But even this mundane function of city government managed to get caught up in the sweeping corruption probe that so far has resulted in the arrests of seven former top city administrators for dozens of felony charges.
It turns out that one of the men now awaiting trial,William K. Aylward, Beaumont’s former finance director, had business interests in the two automobile repair businesses, public records show.
And that constituted an apparent felony violation of a state law prohibiting conflicts of interest, an investigator for the District Attorney’s Office said in a search warrant request.
Aylward could not be reached for comment. His attorney, James M. Taylor, declined to comment.
Aylward, who resigned last year shortly after law enforcement raids on City Hall, is a partner in a businesses called Beaumont Auto Center, which owns property on Fifth Avenue that’s leased to two repair shops: Beaumont Tire and Cherry Valley Automotive.
Both repair shops operate out of the same building, where they serviced city vehicles, records show.
And both shops are registered to Cherry Valley resident Donald Eugene Kiker Jr., who is Aylward’s partner in the Beaumont Auto Center, according to county business and real estate records.
Kiker initially agreed to be interviewed, but declined when a reporter arrived at the auto center to talk to him. He referred questions to Taylor, who also declined to comment on behalf of Kiker.
During Aylward’s last three years as a city administrator, Beaumont Tire and Cherry Valley Automotive collectively received $233,809 in city funds for work on city vehicles, according to city spending records.
This auto work was done without contracts or written agreements.
“We have no idea whether they received a price break or had competitive rates,” said Nancy Carroll, the city treasurer who looked into the matter last year.
Aylward left the city in May 2015, shortly after authorities raided City Hall, the home of then-City Manager Alan Kapanicas, and offices of a prominent consulting firm. But before Aylward left, Carroll asked him about the two repair businesses and he told her he didn’t own them, Carroll said.
Alleged felony
In a search warrant request earlier this year, a Riverside County District Attorney’s Office investigator described Aylward’s role in the city’s auto repairs as a serious crime.
The city Finance Department headed by Aylward authorized payments to Cherry Valley Automotive, which rented property from the partnership that included Aylward, said the search warrant affidavit prepared by investigator Doug Doyle.
“By authorizing the vehicle repair payments made to Cherry Valley Automotive, a tenant on the land partially owned by Aylward’s business, Aylward was in violation of Government Code Section 1090, Conflict of Interest, a felony,” said Doyle’s Jan 29 search warrant affidavit.
In the broader corruption probe, Aylward faces felony charges for embezzlement, misappropriation of public funds and conspiracy, for alleged actions that included mishandling of regional transportation fees. None of the court declarations that elaborate on these charges describe issues with the auto repair businesses.
District attorney officials say that investigation is continuing.
Confidential report
Doyle’s search warrant affidavit says he specifically sought a city-commissioned report by Jason Simpson of JPS Consulting, who probed city finances following last year’s raids.
Simpson is the former finance director for San Bernardino, and he completed his report for Beaumont in September 2015 at a cost of least $14,200, according to public records.
“I believe this report contains information regarding the conflict of interests … in regards to Aylward and Cherry Valley Automotive,” says Doyle’s affidavit.
It’s not clear if the report got to the District Attorney’s Office. Asked if the district office received it, office spokesman John Hall declined to answer, saying only that the investigation is ongoing.
The city refused to release the Simpson report, saying it is exempt from disclosure under public records law because it is subject to attorney-client privilege.
Beaumont City Attorney John Pinkney was traveling and could not be reached to answer questions about the report, and why it is being kept secret.
Councilman Lloyd White said the report was commissioned to help city officials get a handle on Beaumont finances following the April 2015 raids and the abrupt exit of several top city officials, including Aylward.
In-house repairs
The city continued going to Cherry Valley Automotive and Beaumont Tire for some repairs after Aylward left, but now most repairs are done by mechanics who are city employees.
“They are doing a good job and saving the city a lot of money,” Carroll said.
Only emergency or specialized repairs are done by outside shops, she said.
Meanwhile, Aylward remains at the center of the ongoing corruption probe.
Last month, another investigator with the District Attorney’s Office served the city with a search warrant seeking a laptop computer that Aylward used before he left the city. Investigators believe it contains city financial records that only he could access.
Staff Writer Gail Wesson contributed to this report.