Caltrans worker resigns amid allegations of misused trucks

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A Department of Transportation employee has resigned after an investigation was launched into allegations that some workers were using trucks rented by the agency for personal use.

The allegations came to light after KCBS-TV broadcast a report Thursday night using hidden video that apparently showed state workers driving vehicles meant for official use for trips to buy alcohol and shop for shoes and food.

In the KCBS piece a reporter for the station is seen trying to show Gov. Jerry Brown some of the video on his phone as Brown is walking into an event, but got a finger in the chest from the governor who accused him of acting “like a thug.”

Brown spokesman Gil Duran said the KCBS report failed to show an encounter the day before when the same reporter approached Brown at the funeral of Mervyn Dymally. “The reporter made a very bad impression by attempting to ambush the governor at the back door of the mortuary during the funeral service,” Duran said.

The governor’s opponents are trying to use the story, and the governor’s reaction, to drag down support for Proposition 30, the tax measure for which Brown is now crisscrossing the state. A Caltrans spokesman said the investigation was expanding and the department expects to release a statement on its status later Friday afternoon.

-- Anthony York in Sacramento