For years, Sheila Kuehl was celebrated as a “progressive reformer,” a feminist voice for justice and compassion in Los Angeles County government. But behind the carefully crafted image lies a darker truth – a calculated network of influence, deceit, and political payoffs that turned “reform” into a personal power play.
Despite Kuehl’s public insistence – “I had nothing to do with the contracting process” – records tell a different story.
Documents reveal how Kuehl’s longtime ally, Patti Giggans, and her nonprofit Peace Over Violence (POV) became a favored County partner through a no-bid contract arrangement that reeks of cronyism. What was marketed as a noble initiative under the Prison Rape Elimination Act (PREA) became, in reality, a taxpayer-funded pipeline for political favors.
It began quietly on May 29, 2018, inside the County’s Kenneth Hahn Hall of Administration. Under the guise of routine business, the Board of Supervisors – Kuehl, Hilda Solis, Mark Ridley-Thomas, Janice Hahn, and Kathryn Barger – approved the creation of a “PREA Compliance Implementation Team.” Framed as a safeguard for inmate welfare, the initiative evolved into a backroom operation that handed lucrative jail-reform contracts to Giggans’ organization.
A January 2, 2019 memo from County Counsel Mary C. Wickham lays bare how Peace Over Violence was quietly inserted into the PREA framework without competitive bidding. Weekly meetings, bi-weekly briefings, and direct oversight by the Board occurred while Kuehl sat in plain view – publicly championing “women’s safety” as her close friend’s nonprofit reaped the financial rewards.
Watch the Board of Supervisors meeting here: https://lacounty.granicus.com/player/clip/5219?view_id=&meta_id=264632&redirect=true
The Real Victims
While Kuehl and Giggans profited, inmates reporting rape went unanswered. Metro employees alleging harassment were routed to a voicemail black hole. Taxpayers footed the bill for a corruption racket disguised as compassion.
This wasn’t reform. It was racketeering with a feminist face.
Sheila Kuehl and Patti Giggans didn’t just betray public trust – they weaponized progressive ideals to build a private empire, shielded by political allies, buried reports, and a compliant media.
In L.A. County, the only thing “behind bars” was accountability.
A Political Web of Influence
Follow the money and the pattern becomes unmistakable. Campaign finance records show an incestuous network of political patronage: Supervisor Holly Mitchell funnels thousands to Sydney Kamlager, just as the PREA initiative advances. Kamlager, married to Giggans’ attorney Austin Dove, rises through the political ranks with Kuehl and Mitchell’s unwavering support. The same trio later backs Attorney General Rob Bonta and his wife Mia Bonta, completing a self-reinforcing political circuit — contracts, campaigns, and favors flowing in a closed loop under the guise of “progressive reform.”
This insular machine didn’t just control County politics. It reached straight into Washington, D.C.
The Washington Connection
As The Current Report’s investigation first revealed, the Kuehl-Giggans network extended directly to Phillip Washington, then CEO of L.A. Metro and later President Biden’s nominee to head the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).
Washington’s tenure at Metro was marred not only by the no-bid Peace Over Violence hotline contract, but also by a series of other serious allegations, including his role in the distribution of counterfeit N95 masks during the COVID-19 pandemic, a scheme that triggered two separate federal investigations. Sources close to those inquiries described the scandals as part of a broader pattern of mismanagement, political favoritism, and possible fraud under Washington’s leadership.
Despite these red flags, Washington was elevated to national prominence through the same political network that shielded Kuehl and Giggans. When his FAA nomination reached the U.S. Senate, those controversies finally caught up with him.
During the Senate confirmation hearings, Senator Ted Cruz directly confronted Washington about the criminal investigations stemming from his time at Metro, pressing him on both the Peace Over Violence contract and the fake N95 mask scandal. Washington appeared visibly unprepared to explain the mounting evidence of misconduct, and his evasive responses only deepened bipartisan concern about his fitness to lead a federal agency.
Behind the scenes, The Current Report worked directly with D.C. watchdog organizations and Senate investigators, providing crucial documentation and evidence connecting Kuehl’s Los Angeles corruption network to Washington’s abuses at Metro. That collaboration helped inform key senators and oversight committees, ultimately contributing to Washington’s decision to withdraw his nomination before a confirmation vote could be held.
His downfall marked a turning point, proof that what began as a local corruption scandal had metastasized into a federal accountability crisis, exposing how deeply entrenched the culture of protectionism had become inside Los Angeles County’s power structure.
The Raids and the Tip-Off
On September 8, 2022, Judge Craig Richman authorized a series of search warrants targeting Metro headquarters, Peace Over Violence’s Wilshire Boulevard offices, and the County Inspector General’s division. Investigators cited probable cause for misappropriation of public funds, alleging that Kuehl had steered a no-bid Metro hotline contract to her friend Giggans.
When deputies arrived at Kuehl’s home six days later, she stunned reporters by admitting that the Los Angeles Times had tipped her off ahead of the raid, an extraordinary breach suggesting collusion between political insiders and media allies.
According to sources, federal involvement was derailed by political interference. The FBI had committed 40 agents to assist the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department with the Metro search warrants but abruptly withdrew a week before the operation. Investigators say the supervising agent admitted the decision was made “for political reasons.”
Among the items seized were the following:
• 40,000+ pages of seized documents
• Sworn affidavits from Metro whistleblowers
• Bank records showing POV funds used for political galas, private travel, and Giggans’ home renovations
Kuehl retired in 2022 with a $300,000+ pension. Giggans’ POV still holds $4.8 million in active county contracts.
Despite mounting evidence, Peace Over Violence continued receiving County money under PREA contracts, providing “rape crisis counseling” services that bypassed normal oversight. The irony was brutal: a program meant to protect victims instead exploited them to advance a political agenda
The DOJ’s Quiet Retreat
New claims from law enforcement sources suggest the California Department of Justice possessed key information about a second no-bid contract that could have bolstered the public corruption probe, yet did nothing.
Multiple veteran law enforcement officials familiar with the investigation say the DOJ’s handling of the case raised serious questions about procedural integrity. The Department allegedly convened a secret grand jury but failed to summon the lead investigator, whose testimony was described as crucial to securing an indictment. Instead, the grand jury reportedly heard only from individuals aligned with Kuehl and Giggans — a decision one insider called “a boondoggle” that led a judge to quash the LASD’s search warrants.
The unprecedented move invalidated all evidence seized during the raids — including materials from Kuehl’s and Giggans’ homes and offices.
In August 2024, the DOJ quietly closed the case without filing charges, citing “insufficient evidence,” and agreed to quash the warrants as part of a court-approved settlement. DOJ representatives declined to comment on the allegations, referring instead to their statement that the review was “thorough and independent.”
Kuehl and Giggans continue to deny wrongdoing, dismissing the investigation as politically motivated.
A System Protecting Itself
Former Sheriff Alex Villanueva, now running for re-election, says what happened was no accident.
“The lengths the Board of Supervisors went to in order to obstruct and discredit our legitimate investigation of public corruption reveals how hopelessly compromised they are with the shadowy world of non-profits,” Villanueva said. “AG Bonta buried the investigation at the behest of the Board, falsely claiming there was ‘insufficient’ evidence.”
The pattern is unmistakable: insiders protect insiders, evidence disappears, and the justice system bends to shield those at the top.
Three years later, no one has been held accountable. Kuehl remains defiant in retirement, Giggans continues to operate Peace Over Violence with County funding, and Phillip Washington has faded from public view. But the paper trail — of contracts, campaign donations, and insider favors — tells a damning story of power abused and justice denied.
In Los Angeles County’s justice system, the inmates weren’t the only ones behind bars – integrity was, too.
And Sheila Kuehl, far from the reformer she pretended to be, helped lock the door.
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