Hospital did business with firms tied to its CEO, board members

A Monterey County public hospital district did $21 million in business over the last five years with firms in which its chief executive and board members held financial interests, according to a state audit released Thursday. The audit was launched in response to a series of articles in The Times last year that highlighted the huge supplemental pension and severance package that the hospital's former chief executive received. The audit found that the Salinas Valley Memorial Healthcare System regularly did business with firms that the board and top officials had financial stakes in—in some cases in apparent violation of state conflict-of-interest laws.