State Wants Money Back From Calaveras County

By Bill Johnson Published Jul 4, 2004 05:35 am Updated Jan 31, 2009 04:44 pm

The state of California is wanting nearly $13 million from Calaveras County. The money is what the county received, but never spent for the Charles Ng murder trial in 1999.

Ng was sentenced to death for eleven torture-murders in the tiny, rugged Calaveras County community of Wilseyville.

The trial was held in Orange County, but former Calaveras County District Attorney Peter Smith was the co-prosecutor and other county law enforcement officials were involved.

According to a Stockton Record newspaper story, the county was looking to repay the state in installments, but a state controller´s office spokesman said Friday there is no legal provision that would allow the county to make installment payments.

Calaveras county officials say the amount owned is closer to $11.4 million. They say they have the money, but that it is tied up in long-term investments. For the county to put its hands on the $11.4 million all at once, because it could trigger early-withdrawal penalties.