The allegations against Councilman Dave Garofalo were made in an unusually long, 517-page request for a search warrant filed by the Orange County district attorney's office. The documents say Garofalo improperly voted more than 200 times on various issues, and used his position on the city council as leverage to collect advertising revenue for a small community newspaper that he used to publish.
Criminal proceedings haven't yet been filed, a spokesperson for the district attorney says. Garofalo's office didn't return calls from GlobeSt.com.
The district attorney says several of the allegedly improper votes cast by Garofalo involved real estate projects. They include his votes to approve construction of both the Hilton Grand Coast Resort (since renamed the Hyatt Regency Grand Resort) and the Waterfront Hilton.
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