A senior California Lottery executive has been dismissed from his position six months after anonymous state employees sent a letter to the Governor's Office complaining about rowdy behavior among a group of the lottery's top brass.
Deputy Director of Sales James David Cole's dismissal comes amid ongoing investigations into hiring practices and alleged misconduct by senior lottery executives during a 2016 sales conference.
Cole was notified Feb. 1 that his employment would be officially terminated March 1, according to a termination letter obtained through a public records request. He was placed on paid administrative leave for the month of February, according to the letter.
The letter didn't give a reason for the termination, and it is unknown whether his departure was related to the sales conference or other issues raised by the letter. California Lottery spokesman Russ Lopez declined to discuss a personnel matter. Cole, who was promoted to deputy director in 2014, did not respond to a voicemail or emails seeking comment.
"This is a refreshing change," said Paulina Vasquez, a district sales representative and union steward. "I'm glad to see people are being held accountable for their actions and I'm looking forward to seeing even more changes in the future."
Vasquez was among five employees who called for top officials' resignations at a state Lottery Commission meeting in September.
Last summer, an anonymous lottery employee sent a letter to Gov. Jerry Brown that included photos that allegedly showed senior lottery administration officials carrying on at Southern California piano bar, including one image of an official putting his head up a woman's shirt. The letter, written on official lottery stationary, also described disparaging treatment of employees.
Sharon Neal, a district sales representative and union steward, said Cole's leadership style was "geared more toward management, not rank and file. He gave management a very wide range of latitude to wield their power in ways that in my 33 years there I had never seen a management team do before."
Brown's office asked the state Department of Justice to investigate, and lottery employees say agents are still conducting interviews.
At the same time, the State Controller's Office is reviewing the last four years of the lottery's expenditures following an internal audit of the lottery's 2017 training events, conferences and seminars that found several instances of it failing to properly document and review expenses.
The lottery recently has recorded soaring revenue gains, with total sales for the last fiscal year totaling nearly $7 billion, up from $5.5 billion in 2015.
To play you pay; California did the right thing. Sure would like to know how much he got paid. Hey at least now he can legally play the CA lottery...LOL
LOL @ CD
The Court of Public Opinion Is About Mob Justice and Reputation Assassination!
lol..but none of what you stated have anything to do with playing the lottery per se CD. Wouldn't surprise me one bit if Cole was the guy at the piano bar with he's head under that women's shirt. Probably telling the onlookers" This is how you make a sale, you have to be forceful,plant your flag, get in there."
Our new Governor is running a tight ship. Good for him.
Now is the time to crack down on Lottery retailers who win multiple times.
.
Is there a worse feeling than losing what you once had?
perhaps not when it comes to an ex spouse???
Motor boarding --- a victimless crime.
Its #metoo land over hear in California for a reason. James Cole should go try to get a job with Cristina Garcia.
Great news and the outcome predicted by most lp members, and not counting the 1 or 2 members who placed the blame on the woman. It is funny how so many state lotteries are supposedly trying to prevent fraud by pushing 100% non anonymity but their own officials engage in public unprofessional behavior. They need to clean their own house!
Is complaining about rowdy behavior like Beulah Balbricker saying she would have a teacher fired for "moral turpitude"
l wonder if Cole was the sacrificial lamb here? Taking a “ hit for the team” since those filing a report, were displeased with all the action going on at the piano bar. Next time they have a company party, they had better vet the people willing to go: You know kinda like seating a jury: Are you aware of the piano bar scene years ago? Yes l am. Would you be comfortable being in that environment, one way or another? No, l would not! Russ, we will dismiss this worker from the company party. Next!
Sometimes, you have to cull the herd!👌
The letter didn't give a reason for the termination
But people are still saying "I told you so".
With all the advice you give on collecting winnings, I thought you won multiple times. The KY Lottery has a new game and get a winning ticket every drawing; do you think the lottery police will come after me too?
Public officials are held to much higher standards than the private factory worker at an after hours party. It used to be rather common to read about boondoggle "official" trips being held in Hawaii, etc. and matters like that are given a higher level of scrutiny by both the government and the public. When you are a public official, you are considered on duty 24 hours a day. The reason for his termination is obvious and he was in management as well. Such conduct erodes public trust in lottery officials. I thought everyone knew this!
Already told KY lottery I don' t like that new lottery. Sure pay FIVE dollars for a minimum of $2. Top prize only $50K; also suggested it roll over. Think it is called Quick Bucks. Just to be fair to the KLC you do not have to bet $5, there are lower bets too.
For those who are new here, Cole’s dismissal from my POV, is found in the very first paragraph of this article. Click on that link, and you arrive at the bar scene. As it turns out, people didn’t like what they saw & decided to do something about it.So they threw in this pic along with their grievances about working conditions etc etc. it all boils down to the piano bar scene, others may disagree but it is what it is. Those workers who decided to attend had every opportunity to walk away from the bar, but instead decided to make a case based on conduct. Heaven forbid they were not viewing a scene with Samuel L Jackson on a foul mouth spree. It’s jealousy l tell you.
People who turn to look the other way have been responsible for many atrocities in the world. Always live a life of integrity and strive for a fair opportunity for all. I have always believed that God is not going to care so much as to whether you attended church 80% of the time, vs 100%....but whether you looked the other way when someone needed help, or you could have spoken up and stopped a bad situation. Women and people of color are not required to walk away any more. It is not 1800. Appalling that someone would say that in 2019. Obviously some people will never understand this until they are made to understand this fact, as with the lottery official.
The original article, not this one said that the whistleblowers were concerned about being spoken down to, passed over for promotions, bad language being spoken around them. That was what “ they said” yet what we got was pictures of a bar scene. I go with that. Unless they had taped information, conversations, showing what was said to them & where, what we have is hearsay. My Grandmother was born in Germany, lived through the Nazi regime, HELPED Jews wherever she could, she did not turn away. What we have here once again is hearsay, with only pictures of a guy with his head up a female’s shirt. If all the other things were so much worse, why are we not getting a sliver of information on it- all we hear is Cole was dismissed, yeah, tied to the bar scene, since anyone whistle blower said “ this goes on all on the time” or something to that effect. Once again- partying.
"What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas", but apparently that doesn't apply to the county dog warden because after all, some say they are "public officials". But my dog warden was appointed not elected so unless I want to clean up dog p--p, I'll mind my own business if I see him coming out of the Boda Bing.
The thing is, under Cole, sales were $1.5 billion higher than the year before and I doubt Beulah Balbricker can top that.
Just like any other state lottery, KY use ticket sales to determine if players like a game. The Quick Bucks payoffs secondary prizes are tiny, but for $3, players can get five chances to win $50,000. The overall odds of winning something is less than any other KY game.
Bingo- These lottery officials were appointed, and l think that is where the confusion comes from. The other thing the CA lottery likes to remind the playing public" We don't use or get funds" from the State. They are a separate entity, yet some of the complaints from folks who brought this issue to light are "claiming " being overlooked for promotions, well how many slots are open and why do so many folks " think" they qualify? Just because you may be able to multitask, does not make one management material by any stretch. As for quotes about " women & ladies looking the other way" statement hey, l married one. Have two sisters as well, get along just great with all three, so you barking up the wrong tree here by questioning my insight about females .... Just saying.
This article says nothing about lottery retailers who win multiple times, unless a page was not downloaded to my phone.. let me check music.
Funny how some people don't know the difference between using the word female vs women. Clearly someone who has not been in the workplace in decades. And thank you California lottery for making the right decision.
How about it if just addressed as 'they' or those guys and be gender neutral about it?
No disrespect: However for someone who claims to love God but at the same time thinks ill of people who are unemployed, is mind boggling to say the least. Has it ever occurred to you that there are some people who are incapable of working, perhaps through sustaining an injury or illness? The cavalier approach to” look at me” & then look at you is repulsive. I happen to be gainfully employed, despite your assertions. After all as a line in a movie once said “ lies do not become us.”
You are absolutely correct Artist. I couldnt believe the comments I was reading that others thought his behavior was ok. It was not ok, common sense prevailed and he was fired, let this be a wakeup call to others.
We all have opinions,nothing more, nothing less. This article does not say " why" Cole was terminated, simple hiring practices & alleged rules out there. What you failed to notice is that Cole was up against Union reps, who probably forced he's hand one way or another. What is Absolutely correct, is that under Cole's management ,the CA lottery made Billions of dollars more. That's leadership for you, despite his personal shortcomings.
Thank you lejardin. I guess this would even be obvious to someone in junior high. But sometimes when a member has a ton of messages deleted over and over for Christian bashing, that hate and insecurity interferes with common sense.
Try googling the issue. The correct term is women since we are referring to human beings.
The letter didn't give a reason for the termination, and it is unknown whether his departure was related to the sales conference or other issues raised by the letter. California Lottery spokesman Russ Lopez declined to discuss a personnel matter.
We could play stupid and pretend we never read this part of the article and invent reasons to bash other posters and their remarks. Or I could just leave it alone because I don't live in California. Your mileage might vary.
So that's the response one gets when disparaging unemployed people? Changing the topic in order to conceal a wrong? I am sure there are many junior high school kids that could see through that. It's what one would call an excuse. Which reminds me, when God confronted Adam in the Garden of Eden & was asked " why he ate the fruit? His response was to blame Eve, he said " it is this woman you gave me." He made an excuse for his actions, l see you have too.
California like Florida and Massachusetts is an all-party consent state for taping conversations, meaning these employees couldn't secretly record what was being said to them or around them. Doing so could have made them vulnerable to a civil suit, and possibly even criminal charges depending on the circumstances. The average person probably isn't aware of their state's recording laws, but a state employee would be.
Anyway, you don't need tapes to make an informed decision about firing a bad manager. When a company is conducting an internal investigation into an employee's behavior, it is customary to gather statements from other employees and records of company emails (which are always subject to being read) and look for patterns of behavior and corroborating statements. The fact that he was fired rather than re-assigned speaks volumes to me.
The CA lottery website shows more than a dozen deputy director positions under the main director, many with overlapping duties it appears, so I doubt Cole was indispensable or solely responsible for the increase in sales. In fact, what's helped many state lotteries boost their sales over the past few years have been the matrix changes in Powerball and Megamillions which have led to much bigger jackpots, something neither Cole nor any other CA lottery employee had anything to do with. All things considered I see no reason to care so much about his firing unless he's a personal friend or relative, so, good for these whistleblowers getting rid of a bad and easily replaceable senior manager. (I've worked under a few in my day.)
Good to know cottoneyedjoe.
"his behavior"
It's been awhile since I saw the picture, but weren't there two people who were the main focus?
The letter didn't give a reason for the termination, and it is unknown whether his departure was related to the sales conference or other issues raised by the letter. California Lottery spokesman Russ Lopez declined to discuss a personnel matter.
"Anyway, you don't need tapes to make an informed decision about firing a bad manager."
After reading "didn't give a reason" you can still make an informed decision?
If you know more than everybody else why not use your "super powers" to win a MM or PB jackpot?
Welcome cottoneyedjoe. Always great to have a new member who brings a common sense analysis to topics. Please disregard the trolls. They are not representative of the majority of lp and they get looney and insecure when someone says anything on behalf of women and/ or demonstrate you have real world experience on a topic. They seem to have a great deal of free time and nothing to do. The same 3 will misquote people , bully, and disrupt threads. If they get out of hand, please use the report abuse link.
It's called misdirection or a sign of a good con. You know they pretend outrage at something else to detract from their behavior. The sad part is the termination without reason is barely a lottery related story, neither is the employment of LP members, and especially not the gender of lottery players.
Yes it is, and l have seen it all before. Before l happened upon LP by mistake l might add, l was in both Political & Religious forums at the same time. There is a major crossover between the two, although some would disagree. I saw that misdirection all the time, and it was quite easy to see “ One trick ponies “ in those forums. I like having discussions with people, and l can see a con coming a long way off. But we are the only species that get offended if things do not go our way. Which reminds me: saw a documentary of lionesses that just had cubs, they see a male lion approaching and all three lioness attack the male, to protect the cubs, only to “find out” by picking up the scent on the male, that he belongs to their pride. It shows the male “ brushing off the attack” and it’s all lovely dovey within seconds, if only humans could respond the same way,after they think their pride was hurt..
BTW- l meant Lioness’s not lioness. Had to correct that, before I came under attack. Btw- the 3 so called mentioned disruptiors agree & disagree with each other from time to time , know why? They not 🐑 They can think for themselves. That’s a mark of maturity.
I too wasted spent lots of time on religious and political message boards and was amazed that neither was based on the facts. Though in religion it was called contradictory facts and the political boards were loaded with "alternate" facts. One would think in this type of forum, results would decide the "real" facts. If someone claimed they predicted the winning PB or MM numbers on a post before the drawing, it should be there for all to see.
IMO, the social climate in America is pretty weird right now and some people (on whatever side) want to argue anything just for the sake of arguing. Will the termination of Cole negatively effect California lottery sales and/or prevent future motor boarding by anyone working for the state?
"They are not representative of the majority of lp and they get looney and insecure when someone says anything on behalf of women and/ or demonstrate you have real world experience on a topic."
Who are "they"?
"The same 3 will misquote people , bully, and disrupt threads."
Which "3"?
"They seem to have a great deal of free time and nothing to do."
Are "they", the "3" top 50 posters with at least 18,000 posts?
Are they Premium members?
Inquiring minds want to know.
Yeah, and the truth hurts, which is one of the reasons us humans, were endowed with a conscience!
We can find lots of lies gross exaggerations in print news, TV news, and other news sources so we shouldn't be surprised when when we see it in lottery news. The other types of news have fact checkers, but I never thought that LP would need one. There usually are debates on lottery lawsuits simply because there are two sides, but how can there be debate in a news article saying "The letter didn't give a reason for the termination"?
This of course is a follow-up from a past new article and should have ended any debate because Cole is no longer working for the California Lottery; The End.
I'm still wonder who the "the 3" are because I saw none of the type of behavior mentioned anywhere in this thread. I did see some gross exaggeration, but that's nothing unusual because for years they complained about what they perceived as rowdy behavior.
Ever been handed a $3 dollar bill? l have, and you know what, you can tell right off the bat that it's a phony, but you will look at it, turn it over, maybe even hold it up to the light, just to see. You will willingly examine that piece of crap in your hand, knowing full well that it is not the real thing. Some folks are like $3 dollar bills, they claim to be the genuine thing, but under close examination or gentle pressure, they fall apart.
"After reading "didn't give a reason" you can still make an informed decision?"
Of course nobody is completely informed as a result of the publicly available information, but it's entirely possible to be informed and still come to an incorrect or unsubstantiated conclusion. Among other possibilities poor reasoning, preconceptions, or wishful thinking could lead to erroneous conclusions. We'll probably never know if anyone's conclusion about this is right or wrong, but anyone with a room temperature IQ and a lack of bias should reach the conclusion that we don't know how many or which reasons were factors in the guy man being fired.
I always thought "didn't give a reason" means exactly that. Of course anyone can pretend they know the real reason, pretend they're making "an informed decision". and one or two gullible readers will believe them. The rest of us know
when we see it.
Ill. need to be investagated we know they are cheating again