UPDATE: El Dorado County Supervisor Nutting Facing New Charges
EL DORADO COUNTY (CBS13) - El Dorado County supervisor Ray Nutting is facing new charges in connection with his arrest for perjury and conflict of interest.
Prosecutors allege on the day of his arrest Nutting received loans totaling $78,000 from a county contractor and two county employees to cover his bail.
Taking loans from employees or people doing business with the county is illegal under state law.
Nutting's attorney says he rushed to raise money for bail in the hours before his arrest.
The original charges of perjury and conflict of interest come from taxpayer dollars Nutting received for work he's done clearing brush and trimming trees on his own land, as well as other income he didn't report on his state financial disclosure forms. That money adds up to more than $120,000.
His lawyer claims Nutting's coworkers were just friends voluntarily offering up cash to keep the supervisor from having to spend the night behind bars.
"It is bail money. It was used for bail money. It was used as a cash deposit for bail," said David Weiner.
But another man approached by Nutting tells a different story.
Chuck Holland is a local bail bondsman and says Nutting specifically asked him to borrow money—an act the district attorney says violates state law because Holland is also a county contractor.
"If somebody wants to borrow from me, I assume I'm going to get it back," he said. "I kind of interpret that as a loan. I couldn't imagine myself giving someone $10,000.
And with bills mounting, Nutting's attorney says his client plans on setting up a legal-defense fund so his supporters can help with court costs.
"This is a hardship," Weiner said. "He is not a wealthy person."
Nutting remains out on bail. His arraignment is scheduled for Monday.
