The former top executive of Placer Superior Court received more than $470,000 in apparently unauthorized compensation from July 2001 through March 2009, according to a special audit by the state courts' administrative agency.

The state attorney general's office and the Placer County district attorney are reviewing the audit, which found numerous instances in which John Mendes, Placer's former court executive officer, received salary or benefit increases for which there were no records of written authorization and which the presiding judges at the time have no recollection of approving.

As top officer, Mendes ran the day-to-day operations for Placer courts, overseeing staff and budgets. The audit found that his total compensation – salary plus benefits – rose from $162,307 in calendar year 2002 to $304,862 by 2008.

His base salary increased 11 times in seven years, from $120,000 in 2001 to $195,000 in 2008.

In many instances, the audit found the only documented approvals for increases were forms that subordinates – whose own salaries were tied to Mendes' – had signed. Placer's assistant court executive officers' salaries are set at 80 percent of the top officer's.

One of those subordinates, Jim Perry, is now executive officer of Yolo Superior Court. He recently hired Mendes, who was placed on administrative leave in March and left the Placer court in April.

Barbara Lawless, Mendes' attorney, said just because there are questions doesn't mean anything was improper. Mendes did not return calls for comment; Lawless said Mendes would not speak publicly at this time and she would answer questions for him.

All of the raises were approved either orally or in writing, Lawless said, blaming the allegations on judges' faulty record-keeping.

"The judges probably should have kept better records than they did. But it was their job to do that," Lawless said. "They weren't not approving this every year. Trust me."

William Vickrey, the state's administrative director of courts, called the lawyer's assertion "a factual dispute."

Vickrey is head of the Administrative Office of the Courts, part of the Judicial Council, the policymaking body for California's courts.

While superior courts are fairly autonomous and effectively run themselves, the administrative office conducts regular audits and when requested will conduct special audits into specific areas of concern.

The former presiding judge of the Placer court in March asked the state office for a special audit of executive compensation.

The audit, which was completed in April, does not allege wrongdoing. The Administrative Office of the Courts has requested a review by the attorney general's office. The court sent the report to the district attorney.

"The audit presents troubling issues that require additional information," Vickrey said.

Court audit began last fall

Auditors with the Judicial Council of California started their regular audit of the Placer court last October, months before the Judicial Council was asked to look into executive compensation, said Lynn Holton, a spokeswoman for the group.

The Placer court is one of two in the state on pace to overspend its budget this year, Holton said. As recently as last month, the court was on pace to end the year with a $700,000 deficit, although that figure has since dropped to about $530,000.

In March, Robert McElhany, then the presiding judge, asked the council to expand its audit to look specifically at executive compensation. The Administrative Office of the Courts finished its audit in April and sent a copy to McElhany dated May 5. On May 6, the other Placer judges replaced McElhany as presiding judge.

Jake Chatters, Placer's new court executive officer, would not say why the judges removed McElhany or if it was a unanimous decision. McElhany and several other judges did not return calls for comment. Chatters, hired in May, is paid a base salary of $165,000.

In California, courts have flexibility in setting their own systems of salary and compensation. In the Placer courts, a general schedule for salary and raises covers most employees, and compensation beyond that requires approval of the presiding judge.

Call The Bee's Robert Lewis, (916) 321-1061.