City consultant pleads guilty Fleet Rust,...

City consultant pleads guilty

Fleet Rust, a city consultant responsible for monitoring methane

gas levels at a handful of local wells, has admitted to submitting

fraudulent data reports to a county agency.

Rust, who runs Simi Valley-based GeoSyntec Analytical Inc.,

accepted guilt on a misdemeanor fraud charge on Nov. 26. Rust agreed

to serve three years of probation and pay at least $10,100 in fines.

Rust will pay $2,500 in fines and $7,600 in restitution split

between the Orange County Health Care Agency and California

Integrated Waste Management Board.

Rust could also be forced to pay as much as $30,000 in restitution

to the city.

The Orange County district attorney had been investigating Rust

for several months. The 56-year-old was responsible for monitoring 10

wells at Edison Community Park and Huntington Beach Central Library.

Each month, Rust submitted reports to the city, which in turn

passed the data to the health care agency.

As part of a district attorney’s sting, investigators randomly

sealed off several wells and waited, as Rust submitted reports with

fabricated data.

“It was an overworked scientist who took advantage of the trust

given by public agencies,” said Nick Thomas, a deputy district

attorney. “It’s not an isolated problem.”

The city has hired Rust for various jobs dating back to the early

1990s, Thomas said.

Huntington Beach man killed in wreck

A 27-year-old Surf City man died last week after a vehicle driven

by a companion careened off the road and hit a tree.

Jason Steven Anguiano of Huntington Beach died at the scene. Both

men were wearing seatbelts, Sgt. Gary Meza said.

The accident occurred at 1:52 a.m. Friday on Warner Avenue just

west of Algonquin Street, police said.

The driver of the vehicle survived the accident, but was

critically injured. Mission Viejo resident Gregory Duncan, also 27,

was transported to Long Beach Memorial Hospital.

Duncan was driving a 2001 Chevy 1500 pickup truck eastbound on

Warner when the accident occurred.

The cause of the accident is still under investigation, Meza said.

Man dies after rear ending local driver

A 48-year-old man was killed when he crashed into a Huntington

Beach truck driver’s maintenance vehicle on the Eastern Toll Road, a

California Highway Patrol spokeswoman said.

The local man, 52, was slowing down his Dodge Ram in the left-hand

lane of the toll road to repair a sprinkler in the middle median when

a driver of another vehicle crashed into the back of his truck, the

spokeswoman said.

The CHP spokeswoman did not release the name of either man.

Party for retiring marine safety chief

City officials are throwing a farewell party on Dec. 19 for Marine

Safety Chief Steve Seim, who has announced his retirement.

The party will be held from 3 to 6 p.m. at Duke’s Restaurant, at

317 Pacific Coast Highway.

Seim is stepping down after 34 years of public service.