We again interrupt this summer hiatus with a late-breaking Delgaudio bulletin . . .
A Loudoun County Circuit Court judge has again ruled that Ethically Challenged Loudoun Supervisor Eugene Delgaudio (R-Sterling) has no legal basis whatsoever for his claim that his “constitutional rights” and “due process” were violated when the full Board voted to censure him for misuse of office, unethical conduct, misappropriation of public assets, and multiple violation of the Board’s rules last month. Among its other disciplinary actions against Delgaudio, the Board took control of his $120,000 a year Sterling district budget, which Delgaudio had been misusing for, among other things, hiring aides whose chief function was to raise money for his political campaigns.
Judge Burke F. McCahill ruled that Delgaudio’s claims were so without any plausible legal merit that he was denying a routine motion by Delgaudio’s boyish attorney Charles King to amend his original complaint (which had sought an injunction barring the Board in advance from censuring Delgaudio) and in a 25-minute hearing granted a motion by the county attorney to dismiss the lawsuit altogether.
Generally a case has to be so frivolous or such an abuse of the legal process — oh, say, just for example, by filing a lawsuit simply for publicity purposes — to have it dismissed in such short order without it even being heard on its merits. But as Judge McCahill noted, there is simply no basis for Delgaudio to seek legal redress on this matter.
Jack Roberts, the county attorney, noted that despite all of Delgaudio’s whiny assertions about not being given enough time to respond to the accusations against him before the Board, “there was enough time to file a lawsuit.” Roberts also noted, and the court in effect agreed, that serving as a public official is a privilege, not a constitutional “right,” and no one has a “constitutional right” to expend $120,000 in public funds without supervision and without being held accountable when he misuses those funds — as Delgaudio undeniably did.
Meanwhile, our embattled supervisor vows to appeal, and tells WTOP radio that the real reason everyone is picking on him is not that he is a crook, but that he stands up for the Boy Scouts and “traditional marriage.” He then not entirely coherently added, “String me up? These guys act like World War III has erupted around them. But World War III is coming from the left.”
All clear?
realloudoun 