Placentia Youth Club Board Fires Director Arrested in Scandal

PLACENTIA —  The executive director of the Boys and Girls Club of Placentia was ousted Monday evening by its board of directors, less than a week after he was arraigned on charges that he swapped community-service credits for donations to the club.

After Albert P. Rizzo, 52, of Corona acknowledged that his leadership abilities were compromised by the unfolding investigation, the board unanimously terminated his employment contract, a club official said.

Rizzo faces charges that he accepted $450 in donations from undercover police officers in exchange for falsified work sheets that would have relieved them of court-ordered community service hours. The covert probe was launched after an informant told a probation officer that hours could be bought at the club, police said last week.

A club board member said Rizzo agreed with the board’s view that the mission of the nonprofit group must not be undermined by the scandal.

“The club will be seeking money from different sources in the future and seeking support from the community, and the boys must be our first consideration,” said Bob Dickinson, a board member and local electrical contractor. “They have to have a place to go when they come in off the street; that’s what’s important.”

Rizzo is described by peers as a giving and dedicated advocate for the club, a miracle worker who has helped the fiscally strapped club serve 650 youngsters in lean years. Rizzo told the board “the kids must come first” and added that his abilities as a leader would suffer “even after he was cleared,” according to Dickinson.

Rizzo could not be reached for comment following the meeting. The board will begin a search for a new director, Dickinson said.

Rizzo also resigned Saturday as president of the Placentia Rotary Club and announced he would take a six-month leave of absence from the organization, of which he has been a member for almost two decades.

Dickinson, the Rotary president in 1989 and 1990, was appointed to fill out the remainder of Rizzo’s term, which ends in late June. Dickinson said it was awkward and painful to see his longtime co-member grapple with the criminal charges and subsequent fallout.

“I will always be his friend,” Dickinson said. “I will stand by him forever. People in trouble need support from their friends. This has been difficult for us. But the [Monday] meeting was as positive as it could be under the circumstances.”

Rizzo, arrested following a Rotary meeting last week, was released on his own recognizance following his arraignment on Wednesday. A pretrial hearing is set for Feb. 13. Police seized Boys and Girls Club financial documents on Thursday in a search of the club offices.

The Orange County Probation Department is considering launching its own investigation into the matter, and Placentia police are combing club records for any fraudulent work credits or donations from probationers.