Randy Adams, "Disabled" as Bell's Police Chief, Boasted of Athletic Prowess on OC Job App

Categories: OC Media
randy-adams_150.jpg
The day last year when Randy Adams signed on to become the city of Bell's police chief, the 59-year-old was immediately declared disabled, meaning that whenever he decided to retire, he would receives half of his $400,000 annual salary for life.

Funny, then, that Adams was taking rigorous spinning classes at the time. And that he had just posted an impressive time in a 5K race. And that, on an April 2008 job application for Orange County sheriff, he noted he enjoys skiing and running in the 120-mile Baker to Las Vegas Relay.

randy-adams_bell-pd-chief.jpg
Randy Adams
By the way, now-ex chief Adams cut the disability deal with now-ex Bell City Manager Robert Rizzo of Huntington Beach. Rizzo is currently up on corruption charges, Adams is not.

Paul Pringle reports on Adams' retirement--the third-richest in California's massive pension system--in today's Los Angeles Times.

Adams was Simi Valley's outgoing police chief in 2003 when he filed a worker' compensation claim after supposedly injuring his back while lifting boxes he'd packed to take to his new job as Glendale's top cop. Glendale officials claim Adams recovered from back surgery years ago and was not disabled.

When Adams applied for Orange County sheriff, he mentioned no physical problems, Rick Francis, Supervisor John Moorlach's chief of staff who helped interview the candidates, reportedly told Pringle. If Adams had been offered the job, he would have had to prove he was physically fit, Francis added.

Mark Pachowicz, Adams' attorney, maintains in the piece his client has lingering knee and neck injuries, that "it's been years" since Adams went skiing or long-distance running and that jogging and spin classes are good for Adams' ailing back, adding, "You mean you can't jog and be disabled?"

Like this Story?

Sign up for the Weekly Newsletter: Our weekly feature stories, movie reviews, calendar picks and more - minus the newsprint and sent directly to your inbox.

Privacy Policy

Most Popular Stories

Sign up for free stuff, news info & more!

Tools

General

Links

Browse Voice Nation
  • Voice Places

    Voice Places

    Discover restaurants, nightlife, travel, shopping...

  • VOICE Daily Deals

    VOICE Daily Deals

    Get 50 to 90% off every day on restaurants, movies, massages...

  • Best Of

    Best Of...

    More than 10,000 of the BEST things to eat, drink, and experience

  • My Voice Nation

    My Voice Nation

    Join the Village Voice community and get exclusive deals and info

  • Happy Hour

    Happy Hour

    Your local Happy Hour guide at your fingertips

or

Log in or Sign up

Social Connect:

Use your favorite account to access My Voice Nation.


Use your My Voice Nation account to log in:





Forgot password?
or

Sign Up or Log in

Social Connect:

Sign up for My Voice Nation with your preferred network.


Sign up for a My Voice Nation account:



Privacy policy