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The Redemption of Eric Magrini Part 2: The Shasta County Board of Supervisors’ Hit List

Shasta County District 1 Supervisor Chair Kevin Crye.

This story was made possible by a grant from the Fund for Investigative Journalism.

When Shasta County Assistant CEO Eric Magrini arrived at work on March 22, 2023, he’d been on the hit list for about eight months. The former sheriff and a half-dozen other high-ranking county officials had been placed on the unofficial list the year before by a new majority on the Shasta County Board of Supervisors seeking to punish anyone who followed federal and state public health mandates during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Running into newly seated Shasta County District 1 Supervisor Crye first thing in the morning wasn’t the best way to start the day, according to Magrini.

“I was in the breakroom, shared by the County Administrative offices and the Board of Supervisors offices,” Magrini told A News Café in an exclusive interview.  “Supervisor Crye contacted me there, asked me how I was doing and asked if I was feeling better about my job security. I told him I was not feeling any better, based on my belief that the supervisors were still working to eliminate my employment with the county.”

Crye invited Magrini to discuss the issue in a closed-door session in the supervisor’s office. As they sat at the conference table, Crye asked Magrini why he felt threatened. The 26-year public servant didn’t hold back, pointing out that Crye had voted against allowing Magrini to compete for the open County CEO position. Crye also voted in favor of eliminating the Assistant County CEO position—Magrini’s job.

When Crye claimed the recruiter hired by the county to conduct interviews for the CEO position hadn’t listed Magrini as a finalist, Magrini countered that the recruiter had told him he’d finished at the top of the group. Crye restated he was opposed to the assistant CEO position, not Magrini personally, but Magrini wasn’t buying it. He returned to his own office thinking the discussion with Crye was over.

It wasn’t.

“After a few minutes, Crye entered my office and was clearly agitated that I had challenged him,” Magrini recalled. The fledgling supervisor flew into a spiteful rage.  “This was apparent by his body language and the fact that he was calling me an ‘ass.’  I asked him two separate times to leave my office.  My secretary was seated just outside my office door. Finally, Crye left my office.”

Disturbed by Crye’s aggressive behavior, Magrini immediately reported the supervisor’s actions to interim CEO Mary Williams and County Counsel Rubin Cruse.

Two days after Crye’s outburst in his office, Magrini received a call from his wife from her office just before lunch. An unknown man in a pickup was parked outside her office window.

“What kind of vehicle does Kevin Crye drive?” she asked her husband.

“A white Toyota Tacoma,” he answered.

“It’s Kevin Crye,” she said. Magrini instructed her to take a picture of the unannounced supervisor.

Shasta County District 1 Supervisor Kevin Crye pays Mrs. Magrini a visit.

“After she took the photograph, Supervisor Crye approached my wife and stated he had ‘pulled off of the freeway to take a call’ so as not to call while driving,” Magrini said unbelievingly. Crye had learned the location of his wife’s office in a previous casual conversation with Magrini.

“It is apparent to me that Supervisor Crye was attempting to intimidate and harass my wife,” Magrini said. “Had he truly in fact pulled off the freeway to make a call, there are several other places closer to the freeway where he could have done that.”

Magrini filed a complaint with Shasta County Support Services about Crye’s sudden appearance at his wife’s workplace, one of several he’s filed against the supervisor since Crye took office in January 2022. All of Magrini’s complaints were probed by outside investigators and two complaints were sustained. According to a Support Services Personnel Unit response to Magrini, the two sustained complaints were:

“A preponderance of the evidence sustained the allegation that you observed Supervisor Kevin Crye make comments to women about their sex since his election in November 2022.”

“A preponderance of the evidence sustained the allegation that Supervisor Crye made inappropriate comments to County employees about their sex or gender since his election to the Board in November 2022.”

Apparently, Crye’s misogynist behavior, the subject of this expose by A News Café, has never been addressed by the county. The investigation determined that “a preponderance of the evidence did not sustain the allegation that Supervisor Crye attempted to eliminate the Assistant Chief Executive Officer (“ACEO”) position because you complained about Crye’s treatment of women.”

As we shall see, Magrini’s allegation that board members retaliated against him because he reported Crye’s misogynist behavior to the county was just one of many claims he made against Crye and District 4 Supervisor Patrick Jones.

Long story short, the county did not protect Magrini and other administrators and staff from harassment by Crye, Jones and other board members, so now he’s hired the Bay Area law firm Cannata, O’Toole & Olson to sue Shasta County and the board for engaging in age discrimination, harassment, constructive discharge, retaliation, making threats and creating a hostile work environment.

The lawsuit, which will be filed in the coming weeks, may include more county administrators and staff who were similarly treated and either fired or forced to leave because of the toxic work environment created by the board majority. There are at least four former Shasta County officials considering similar legal action against the county.

Shasta County Supervisors Kevin Crye and Patrick Jones with retired sheriff’s Capt. Patrick Kropholler as Dec. 19 board meeting.

Those lawsuits come on top of a constructive discharge lawsuit filed against the county by retired Sheriff’s Office Capt. John Kropholler in May 2022. At the Dec. 19 board meeting 11 days ago, District 3 Supervisor Mary Rickert said the supervisors voted 3-2 in closed session to approve a $2.6 million out-of-court settlement for Kropholler at the special meeting held on Nov. 16

Supervisors Crye, Jones and Kelstrom voted for settling with Kropholler, despite the weaknesses in his case reported in Part 1 of this story. Funny thing about that vote: It was never announced after the board came out of closed session.

“There was a 3-2 vote, more than once,” said Rickert, who noted that outside counsel handled the case. “Neither time was there an announcement coming out of closed session. I don’t know why. I don’t know the rationale. To me, that is a red flag.”

Rickert and District 2 Supervisor Tim Garman voted against the Kropholler settlement, in part because of the findings of the Ellis Report. An item on the consent calendar for the Dec. 19 meeting that would have diverted $2.6 million to risk management to fund the Kropholler settlement was pulled before the meeting.

Part 1 of the The Redemption of Eric Magrini covered Magrini’s tour as Shasta County Sheriff from 2019 to 2021. Part 2 covers Magrini’s service as Assistant County CEO from 2021 to 2024.

No place to hide: Magrini lands on the hit list

If former Sheriff Eric Magrini had any hopes of avoiding the limelight after transitioning to his new role as Shasta County’s Assistant CEO in June 2021, they were put to rest when he was featured in “The Color of Money,” episode five of the Red White and Blueprint docuseries released in August, just two months later.

The docuseries debuted in March 2021 and was part of a multimedia campaign to recall District 1 Supervisor Joe Chimenti, District 2 Supervisor Leonard Moty and District 3 Supervisor Mary Rickert for following state and federal public health mandates during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

Co-produced by local restaurant owner Carlos Zapata and funded in part by Connecticut son-of-a-billionaire Reverge Anselmo, Red White and Blueprint was billed as the patriot’s guide to recalling local government officials. In reality, it served as a soapbox for Supervisor Jones to spew bald-faced lies about his political enemies.

Incredibly, Supervisor Patrick Jones passed this lie detector test in the Red White and Blueprint docuseries.

In “The Color of Money,” Jones falsely alleged that Assistant CEO Magrini and District 2 Supervisor Moty had cut a deal with local criminal cartels to collect a tax on illegal marijuana grows to fatten their own salaries and pensions. Like most of the 15 claims Capt. Patrick Kropholler made about Magrini in his whistleblower report covered in Part 1 of this story, Jones’ allegation was blatantly false.

That didn’t stop people from believing it. In a revised complaint Magrini submitted to Support Services in July 2023, he described how he became aware he was on the hit list:

“Jones’ comments began a continuing campaign of defamation against me. During this period of time, several threats were made against elected and appointed officials. Members of the Board were threatened, other leadership positions in County government were singled out and targeted for removal, harassment—even death. Eventually a written ‘hit list’ was developed that included the recall of Supervisor Moty, the removal of DA Bridgett, Public Health Officer Karen Ramstrom, HHSA Director Donnell Ewert, County Counsel Rubin Cruse, CEO Matt Pontes and me, Assistant CEO Eric Magrini. Several individuals began spreading false and misleading information about these officials in furtherance of the plan to remove them from office. This continued the campaign of defamation against me.”

Magrini believes Jones has sided against him for two different reasons.

“First was because of how I handled the COVID response as the County’s Emergency Manager,” Magrini said.  “There were several COVID policies I complied with due to OSHA regulations and Executive Orders. Secondly, I was successful in writing a case and obtaining a conviction against his then girlfriend, Delores Lucero.”

Lucero was convicted of felony election fraud in 2014. The charges have since been expunged. She’s become a frequent critic of her former boyfriend Jones at board meetings.

As sheriff, Magrini’s hands-off approach to enforcing COVID mandates enraged many critics—including A News Café—but temporarily shielded him from the growing public wrath against precautionary public health measures such as masking, social distancing and mandated vaccinations.

Eric Magrini was Shasta County Sheriff from 2019 to 2021.

“When Magrini was sheriff, he was struggling,” former District 2 Supervisor Leonard Moty told A News Café. Moty is a former Redding Police Dept. chief with 31 years on the force. “He allowed the Cottonwood Rodeo to take place, he came out and said he’s not going to enforce the mandates.”

But Moty supported Pontes’ selection of Magrini as Assistant CEO after Pontes assured him the Ellis Report had exonerated Magrini from most of Kropholler’s false claims. Moty categorically denied Jones’ fraudulent claims he and Magrini negotiated with criminal marijuana cartels. Magrini was one of the sheriff’s deputies who chauffeured Moty on trips to the evacuated second district during the Carr Fire in 2018.

In addition to helping his constituents on those tours of the burned-out district, Moty took time to refuel the generator at his own home, and check on other neighbors’ properties. This earned Moty a censure from the board after the 2020-2021 Shasta County Grand Jury found that he’d used county resources to further his own gain. Some grand jury observers complained the case was politicized, since it was brought up three years after the Carr Fire during the middle of a recall election that targeted Moty.

Cottonwood Militia leader Woody Clendenen gives District 5 Supervisor Les Baugh a trim during COVID.

As assistant CEO, Magrini’s status as an administrator hired by CEO Pontes prevented the board majority from firing him outright. In his revised complaint, Magrini claims District 5 Supervisor Baugh first assured him he’d protect Magrini’s job. Then, after Moty was recalled in February 2022, Baugh flipped allegiances and used Magrini as a pawn in the new board majority’s quest to fire any public official who supported state and federal COVID mandates.

It’s fair to say the period between January 2022 and June 2023 may have been the most fractious 18 months in the 174-year history of Shasta County governance. In January 2022, Jones and Baugh were angered once again when the board majority voted to close the board chambers and hold a virtual meeting because of an excessive number of credible threats against public officials and the surging coronavirus. According to Magrini’s revised complaint:

“The Chair of the Board (Chimenti) held a meeting with CEO (Matt Pontes), ACEO (myself), the Sheriff (Mike Johnson) and County Counsel (Rubin Cruse) to determine details around the closing of the Board Chambers. The Chair then ordered the removal of all keycard access to the Board Chambers for all staff, including all Board members. This caused Supervisors Jones and Baugh to become unhappy. They blamed the Chair, the CEO and County Counsel for their loss of access to the Chambers. Supervisor Jones responded by hosting an unpermitted large gathering outside of the Chambers with speakers, large video screen, and audio.”

Supervisor Patrick Jones holds an unauthorized meeting outside the board chambers.

In February 2022, Moty was recalled and HHSA Director Donnell Ewert stepped down, in part because anti-public health sentiments in Shasta County had reached a fever pitch. In March, Moty’s replacement, newly elected District 2 Supervisor Tim Garman, gave Baugh and Jones what they’d been seeking: a three-vote board majority. According to Magrini’s revised complaint:

“Supervisor Baugh, who was now Board Chair, challenged CEO Pontes regarding the action to close the Board Chambers. He threatened Pontes and told him he will ‘ruin him’ by smearing his name on social media if he doesn’t do what Baugh wants—dismantle HHSA and bring the Health Officer before the Board in closed session. Shortly after Supervisor Baugh was appointed Chair, he met with CEO Pontes and County Counsel Cruse to review several agenda items he demanded be added to reverse County policy on Board Calendar and Vice Chair assignments. He also called for an end to the COVID emergency. Baugh informed Cruse and CEO Pontes that ‘they are next’ and that we all must be aware of ‘the list’ and his displeasure with the County’s response to COVID and the need to remove the County leadership responsible for the County’s response.”

Supervisor Rickert, who survived the recall attempt along with District 1 Supervisor Joe Chimenti, was aware she was still being targeted.

“I never saw an official ‘hit list,’ but it was, more or less, conjecture that the far-right crowd wanted to get rid of many people in leadership positions,” Rickert said. “I would not be surprised if there really was an actual list. They especially went after Donnell Ewert, Dr. Ramstrom, Matt Pontes, Eric Magrini, Rubin Cruse, Jim Ross, Matt McOmber and myself.”

The new board majority of Baugh, Jones and Garman held several closed session meetings where county officials such as Public Health Officer Dr. Karen Ramstrom, County Counsel Rubin Cruse and County CEO Matt Pontes were grilled about their actions during the pandemic. The Kropholler lawsuit and whistleblower report became public knowledge around this time.

Former Shasta County CEO Matt Pontes.

“We we were in a staff meeting,” Magrini recalled. “It was myself, Matt Pontes, and some of our other staff. Jones pulled Pontes out of the staff meeting and pulls him right outside the door and starts confronting him, yelling at him about his criminal past, calls him a felon, tells him to immediately resign or he would release it to the public and the media. Pontes reported this blackmail to director of Support Services Shelley Forbes.”

The next week, Jones went on local TV News and leaked Pontes’ expunged criminal record as a young adult. As reported in Part 1, that record was first revealed when Magrini, with Kropholler’s assistance, unwittingly used the California Law Enforcement Telecommunications System to perform a criminal background check on Pontes after Pontes was selected as County CEO in January 2020.

Unbeknownst to Magrini, CLETS cannot be used for criminal background checks on county employees. Magrini believes Kropholler leaked Pontes’ criminal record to Jones in order to blackmail the CEO into quitting.

“It is my belief that Kropholler shared Mr. Pontes’ criminal record,” Magrini told A News Café.  “There were only a select few people, three that I am aware of, who were privileged to have known this information: Kropholler, myself and the person who requested the information as part of his background check, who we had a signed waver form from (Pontes). I know for a fact that neither I nor the person in charge of the background check shared this information with Jones.”

In May 2022, the new board majority of Supervisors Baugh, Jones and Garman voted 3-2 against Supervisors Chimenti and Rickert to fire Dr. Karen Ramstrom. It then set its sights on Magrini.

“Chair Baugh told Pontes that firing me would go a long way towards preserving his own job,” Magrini states in his revised complaint. “At one point, Baugh told Pontes it was either Pontes or me, and that if Pontes fired me that might actually preserve Pontes’ position as CEO.”

Contrary to rumors that Magrini disliked Pontes, the two men bonded working on plans for an ambitious state-of-the-art jail facility that would offer on-site mental health services, substance abuse treatment and vocational training. Pontes had helped design a similar facility in Santa Babara; that’s why Shasta County hired him in the first place.

It was not to be. In June 2022, Sierra Pacific announced it had hired Pontes as its first Director of Wildfires and Fuel Management. One vanished employee at a time, Magrini was making his way to the top of the hit list.

Supervisor Jones playing on Supervisor Crye’s Pac-Man machine.

Kevin Crye’s chaotic conduct consumes County

When newly elected Shasta County District 1 Supervisor Kevin Crye took office in January 2023, one of his first interviews was with Assistant CEO Eric Magrini. Magrini described the visit in his revised complaint:

“On or about January 3, 2023, while in Crye’s office, he began to question me about how I was awarded my current position and how the process went and what my qualifications were. He requested I provide him with all documentation, including a copy of my job description and a list of my accomplishments since becoming the ACEO, which I did. Additionally, he shared with me that he was familiar with the ‘hit list’ and my name was on it.”

Like an aggressive dog marking new territory with its scent, “Crye immediately came in and started making demands and breaking policy,” Magrini said. “It began with little things like having County staff install his Pac-Man machine at taxpayers’ expense. He began questioning staff as to how they voted, were they for or against him, did they vote Republican or Democrat. Shortly thereafter, he began making demands and circumventing department heads and violating County policy.”

After administrators and staff pushed back on Crye’s behavior, he posted a sign on his office wall stating, “Some people are like slinkies … not really good for anything but they still being a smile to your face when you push them down a flight of stairs.”

Crye also constantly pitched his own Ninja Coalition businesses, which rake in millions of dollars in federal and state COVID grant money, while working on county business.

“At the beginning of his term on the Board, he would solicit the news to interview him regarding a county matter and would use his Ninja Coalition as his backdrop for his interview,” Magrini said.  “On several occasions, he would compare different County programs to programs he was involved in, such as the Ninja Coalition.  He constantly wears Ninja Coalition attire, even while doing County business or meetings.”

In the early months of 2023, Magrini was in the running for the open County CEO position. He claims in his revised statement:

“The County was just beginning a formal recruitment process to find a permanent CEO. Interim CEO Pat Minturn and the Board began having conversations on who could temporarily fill the Acting CEO position when Minturn retired. I told Minturn and some members of the Board that I was available and interested in the position. Minturn told me the Board was not willing to appoint me Acting CEO and that the Board continued to pressure him to fire me.”

Even though Magrini had scored well in his job interview, the writing was on the wall when the Board appointed Mary Williams, one of his subordinates, to the interim CEO position. Magrini states in his revised complaint:

“When Williams was selected the BOS offered her a salary within the CEO pay scale, more than what I offered to do the job for. I regarded this as an attempt to discourage me and pressure me to quit. Once Williams was appointed to the position, Chair Jones and Supervisor Crye immediately began pressuring her to terminate me. When she refused, they attempted to persuade her by offering her the Assistant CEO position and possibly the CEO position if she was willing to display her ‘courage’ and ‘strength’ by ‘doing the right thing’ in their eyes.”

Several county employees who asked not to be named out of fear of retaliation confirmed Magrini’s account that the Board had urged successive interim CEOs to terminate him. Complaints about Crye’s allegedly misogynistic and abusive behavior have been filed by numerous county employees.

Former Shasta County Registrar of Voters Cathy Darling Allen.

The Elections Office was a hotspot for abuse from both Jones and Crye after the extremist board majority voted to tear up the contract with Dominion Voting Systems and go to hand-counted paper ballots for future elections in early 2023. The stress was so intense Registrar of Voters Cathy Darling Allen was forced to retire for health reasons earlier this year.

“As assistant CEO, I was getting complaints from Cathy Darling Allen regarding how her office was being treated differently,” Magrini said. “The female employees felt like Crye had made inappropriate comments to them.”

A News Café asked Darling Allen to compare Crye and Jones’ abusive tendencies.

“Crye pretends not to understand the effect of his disruption, disrespect and destruction,” Darling Allen said. “Jones seems to understand the effects of his actions, and instead of being regretful, he is gleeful about the lives he has destroyed.”

“The larger effects of this behavior cannot be overstated; my great concern beyond my health and family, is that the most marginalized of our neighbors here in Shasta County will be the ones who feel the burden of lack of services due to the incompetence and intentional destruction of those very services by Jones and Crye,” she said.

Jones and Crye declined to respond to A News Café’s inquiries. Darling Allen has not pursued legal action so far but there’s no question real physical damage has been done.

“In my job specifically, I was no longer able to do my regular job duties, nor was other management staff, because the Board majority were constantly disrupting our workflow with demands to appear before them and answer questions, questions about made-up concerns,” Darling Allen said.

“The real agenda, of course, was to call me and staff before them and then pronounce our sentences, without charges or testimony. Both Crye and Jones treat the position of board member like it’s a judicial appointment, but with none of the other benefits of our excellent criminal justice system. Board meetings continue to be a mockery of the court system—no actual judges present but lots of corrupt evidence presented.”

A News Café asked Darling Allen to rate Magrini’s performance as sheriff and assistant CEO.

“My opinion was and remains that he is a law enforcement professional who was doing his best for the citizens of Shasta County,” she said. “He was helpful as Sheriff, and supportive as Assistant CEO. He’s really gotten the short end of the stick in all this.”

MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell and Supervisor Kevin Crye: Election deniers supreme.

In March 2023, when Crye made his now infamous visit to MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell in Minneapolis, the bill for the trip eventually crossed Magrini’s desk.

“Crye secretly took his trip to visit Mike Lindell,” Magrini said. “He made all travel arrangements and payments on his own accord.  After returning from this trip, he then made it public that he had flown to meet with Mike Lindell.  Shortly thereafter, he asked the County to reimburse him for his trip.  This is against County policy as a trip such as this would require approvals and travel advances. Additionally, there was no proof this was County business.”

“I’ll give him some leeway there,” Magrini said. “He was brand new. And if you work in private sector—I know, because my brother works in the private sector—he goes on a trip, he comes back, he throws receipts on the table and they just write him a check.”

Days later, Crye angrily confronted Magrini in his own office as reported in the beginning of this story. Witnesses confirmed Magrini was stunned by Crye’s over-the-top performance. Magrini reported the incident to Director of Support Services Shelly Forbes and County Counsel Rubin Cruse.

Several days after that, Crye paid an unannounced visit to Magrini’s wife’s office. Magrini filed another complaint. To date Crye has not been held accountable for any his actions, despite numerous complaints.

“He does this quite regularly,” Magrini said, adding that most employees are too worried about keeping their jobs to complain. “People cower, remain silent. I’m at a different point in my career. I’m at the end.”

He means that literally.

“When asked why they refused to protect the county’s employees, I was told County Counsel’s primary and legal obligation is to the Board of Supervisors and representing an employee against the Board would create a conflict,” Magrini said.  “It was immediately after this that I was placed on leave from the County.”

Magrini’s placement on paid administrative leave occurred under the radar. After Jones discovered the assistant CEO’s absence in May 2023, he blurted out that county counsel had advised board members not to speak to Magrini, without giving a reason why.

Jones’ remark reminded Magrini how the board majority used “lack of communication” to justify firing Dr. Karen Ramstrom and running off Matt Pontes and County Counsel Rubin Cruse—Cruse left the county in April 2023. They just stop talking to you and the next thing you know you’re gone. Magrini’s opening statement in his revised complaint notes:

“I previously submitted a complaint about the retaliation, hostile work environment, constructive termination, discrimination, harassment, and defamation I have suffered from various members of the Board of Supervisors, past and present. This revised complaint is intended to bring the facts current and document the atmosphere of hostility and fear that has infected the Shasta County workplace and injured me.”

Truth be told, Magrini would probably rather not talk to Jones or Crye, as a strange encounter with Crye in November 2023 demonstrates.

Magrini was parked at a public school waiting to pick up one of his grandkids. As he waited, he chatted with a female Shasta County employee of his acquaintance who was picking up her kids. At some point Magrini noticed that Crye, who was also picking up one of his kids, was parked nearby, staring at the two of them. The two men glared at each other. Then Crye sped off.

“Initially, I did not feel my safety was in jeopardy,” Magrini said. “It was not until Crye drove around the block, stopped a few homes away and attempted to conceal his vehicle behind some shrubs that I became concerned. This type of behavior is not normal for a rational person. It was at this time that I turned around and faced him to let him know that his presence was known.”

After Magrini returned home, he learned Crye had gone to the office of Magrini’s female acquaintance and questioned her about her friendship with Magrini.

Magrini, 48, never returned to work after being placed on paid administrative leave in March 2023. He officially retired from the county in October after 28 years in public service. It’s not the way he wanted to leave.

“I’ve lived here all my life,” he said. “It’s killing me to see this county falling apart.”

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If you appreciate investigative journalist R.V. Scheide’s exclusive reporting, please consider becoming an ANC subscriber to support this site’s local, independent journalism.

 

R.V. Scheide

R.V. Scheide is an award winning journalist who has worked in Northern California for more than 30 years. Beginning as an intern at the Tenderloin Times in San Francisco in the late 1980s, R.V. served as a writer and an editor at the Sacramento News & Review, the Reno News & Review and the North Bay Bohemian. R.V. has written for A News Cafe for 10 years. His most recent awards include best columnist and best feature writer in the California Newspaper Publishers Association Better Newspaper Contest. R.V. welcomes your comments and story tips. Contact him at RVScheide@anewscafe.com

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