Ian Choudri, chief executive of the California High-Speed Rail Authority, resigned late Wednesday, citing “important personal and family priorities,” according to a copy of his emailed resignation obtained by CalMatters.
The announcement came in the middle of a two-day board meeting and closes a turbulent two-year tenure.
Last month, the inspector general’s office overseeing the agency found that consultants billed taxpayers for first-class flights, premium rides and trips to a nightclub, cigar lounge and restaurants, sometimes at Choudri’s request.
CalMatters puts the misused money at nearly $600,000. Consulting firms have since paid back nearly $1.3 million, authority staff reported Wednesday.
The board voted this month to limit Choudri’s contracting authority, and a source with the authority told CalMatters, on condition of anonymity, that members had been weighing further discipline, including possible termination. CalMatters does not report any criminal referral or charges arising from the probe.
Under Choudri, the project also lost $4 billion in federal funding after repeatedly missing deadlines to buy trains. In his resignation letter, he said he had led the project’s “turnaround into a successful program.”
Choudri did not respond to CalMatters’ requests for comment, and it is unclear when his last day will be.
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