By Kathryn Reed

Consultants with ties to a slew of El Dorado County officials, including a Superior Court judge, face civil complaints stemming from a contract with the Pioneer Fire Protection District.

Dan Dellinger and Cris Alarcon, who operate Dellinger Consulting, are the target of El Dorado County District Attorney Vern Pierson’s complaint that was filed July 27.

“Under the terms of the agreement between defendants and PFPD it is abundantly clear that Dan Dellinger and Christopher Alarcon were hired and paid, at taxpayer expense, to expressly advocate a position in favor of a ballot measure to raise taxes,” the DA’s office said in a statement.

The 2012 grand jury report that came out last month has an item about this whole subject matter that Lake Tahoe News wrote about June 25.

The county wants the consulting firm to pay back the early $30,000 it received from the fire district. The DA alleges, as did the grand jury, that Dellinger illegally used taxpayer dollars in a campaign.

While testimony and evidence obtained by a grand jury is usually confidential, because of the nature of the allegations the grand jury made against the consulting firm, Superior Court Judge Suzanne Kingsbury released the evidence to the District Attorney’s Office.

The DA’s complaint requests restitution to the county for the $10,000 which was allegedly illegally obtained by Dellinger and Alarcon; a civil penalty of $1,000 for each day of violation of the government code plus three times the value of the unlawful use of public resources; a civil penalty of $2,500 for each day of violation of the business and profession code; and to enjoin the defendants from any further payments of taxpayer money which may be due under what is being called an illegal contract with Pioneer Fire.

Alarcon has also had recent criminal issues to contend with. Earlier this month he pleaded no contest to nine charges.