CAC gets unwanted limelight

The Packer is developing coverage on a story that broke last evening. Here is coverage from The San Diego Union Tribune.

The story refers to a CDFA audit showing $1.5 million spent by senior CAC staff and some directors on clothes, ballgames, home improvements and other expenses between July 2005 and May 2008.

Here is the link to the CDFA statement on the audit. I have a call into CDFA to ask for the full 91-page report.

This may be a case where "gray areas" expanded because of the lack of bright line financial guidelines. Or, of course, it could be much worse than that. Here is the link to the CDFA audit, posted to the Fresh Produce Industry Discussion Group.


If you read the follow on comments to the SD Trib story, you'll find various reactions, which I will generalize and summarize below:
* It isn't that bad; growers shouldn't be surprised that the commission wined and dined buyers; you can't sell avocados with black and white paper copies
* disband the commission