Youth Agency Loses Another Key Official

SACRAMENTO —  The man whom the Davis administration just put in charge of monitoring reforms at the California Youth Authority has abruptly announced his resignation from the troubled agency, state officials said Tuesday.

After Gregorio Zermeno was forced to resign last week as Youth Authority director, Brian D. Rivera was selected to fill the leadership void. But on Monday he alerted staff that he would retire Jan. 14, after 27 years with the department.

Rivera is the third top agency official to leave in seven months.

Meanwhile, an investigation into abuse of Youth Authority wards at a state-run facility in Paso Robles is widening to include allegations that guards set up fights between prisoners, state officials said.

Investigators are examining prison records, and employees have been questioned about whether staff in a high-security unit encouraged fights between known enemies. Similar allegations have dogged other youth facilities as well as adult prisons in California.

At El Paso de Robles Youth Correctional Facility, at least two employees have been reassigned to duties away from any contact with wards, Davis administration officials said. The institution is near Paso Robles, halfway between Los Angeles and San Francisco.

The new allegations surfaced in the wake of a report in The Times last week about alleged abuse in the 11-prison Youth Authority system, which has responsibility for 7,700 juvenile offenders. As Zermeno’s resignation was made public, The Times reported that wards at El Paso de Robles were periodically handcuffed around the clock, sometimes for days, and that inmates were detained in a prison gymnasium.

With the departure of Rivera, whom Youth Authority staff regarded as a possible candidate for director, the search for Zermeno’s successor is expected to intensify.

Last week, Robert Presley, Gov. Gray Davis’ Cabinet-level corrections secretary, directed Rivera to visit all 11 youth prisons to determine how well they are complying with new policies, advanced last fall by Davis, that restrict the use of force against inmates.

But this week, Rivera gave superintendents a two-sentence memo announcing his retirement and adding: “I have appreciated working with you all.”

Rivera was unavailable for comment. A Youth Authority official said he was inspecting facilities.

Robert Martinez, a spokesman for Presley, said Rivera had been considering retirement for some time and, unlike Zermeno, left voluntarily. Martinez said Rivera had transferred to the agency’s Sacramento headquarters at Zermeno’s request, “and this is an opportunity to move ahead with his plans and get back to his family” in Southern California.

Like Zermeno, Rivera worked his way up the Youth Authority’s ranks. He previously served as superintendent of the Fred C. Nelles Youth Correctional Facility in Whittier and as an assistant superintendent at El Paso de Robles. Rivera currently oversees the authority’s largest branch.

With his and Zermeno’s departures, all three of the department’s top slots are vacant. Earlier this year, Steve Chatten was selected as acting chief deputy, but within a few months he was reassigned to another agency, stripped of his right to carry a concealed weapon and questioned by the state inspector general’s office about incidents that occurred when he was the superintendent of the Heman G. Stark Youth Correctional Facility in Chino.

As part of its investigation, initiated by the governor, the inspector general’s office found improper punishments meted out to wards at Stark, mostly during the administration of former Gov. Pete Wilson.

Steve White, who was appointed to the watchdog inspector general’s job by Davis, has broadened his probe to include other institutions, including El Paso de Robles, where agents are looking at detention practices and pursuing questions about possible set-up fights.

The Youth Authority’s internal affairs unit is examining similar allegations to determine if officers need to be disciplined for allowing fights to occur.

One senior employee, who spoke on condition of anonymity, stressed the danger of guards’ jobs and said he is unaware of any fights arranged by staff.

Gladstone reported from Sacramento, Rainey from Los Angeles.