Thanks for Nothing

A week later, an obviously embarrassed Sheriff's Department finally acted, filing charges against just two people, a Laguna Beach homeowner and her private contractor—both for allegedly filing false claims. So ended the county's scrutiny of more than 200 rehabilitation projects handled by HCD and its private contractors.

In an interview with the Weekly, Spitzer said he was surprised to hear that two years after the scandal broke, many repairs to the original rehab work still hadn't been made.

"You'd think the county would have bent over backward to fix this problem," he said. "When I became involved in this investigation, I was promised that the homeowners would be protected. If I learn that those repairs still haven't been made, then I will demand a comprehensive walk-through inspection of those properties."