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Police Probe Laid-Off City Worker's Suicide

COSTA MESA (AP) — Police on Friday probed the last hours of a city worker who jumped to his death from the roof of the Civic Center after he received notice that he was going to be laid off, as those who knew the man struggled to understand why he took his own life.

Investigators were talking to people who may have had contact with Huy Pham before his apparent suicide, Lt. Bryan Glass said.

Pham, 27, plunged from the roof of the five-story center on Thursday about an hour after he was called in to work to receive the pink slip. His brother and others have said that he did not appear to be suicidal in recent weeks.

"We're trying to understand the circumstances that led to it," Glass said.



Pham was one of 213 city employees -- nearly half the city's work force of 472 -- who were to be notified of layoffs on Thursday. His death heightened the strain over the City Council's decision earlier this month to outsource 18 city services to other government or private agencies.

Meanwhile, Costa Mesa Mayor Gary Monahan upset city workers by not making an appearance after Pham died Thursday.

Monahan was just a couple of miles away, celebrating St. Patrick's Day at his Irish pub, Monahans.

The Mayor didn't show up most of Friday, either, as other city employees, who work in the Civic Center and knew Pham, mourned his death.

Monahan made an appearance at a news conference at City Hall. He said it was a sad day in the city's history. He refused to answer any questions.

When asked why he didn't come by Thursday when Pham committed suicide he responded, "No comment".

Costa Mesa's CEO said city officials have established a fund for Pham's family.

Crisis counselors were brought in to help Pham's co-workers deal with their shock, and a makeshift shrine of candles and flowers appeared at the spot where he died.

Retired city worker Mike Moran, 57, was among those who showed up at the site on Friday.

He worked with Pham for more than four years and said he never saw any signs of depression in his fellow building technician.

"He loved life. He loved his family. I don't get it," Moran said.

Pham had been off work for three weeks with a broken ankle he suffered while training to fulfill a dream of climbing Mt. Everest, Moran said.

Pham also had received his contractor's license and had future plans of entering the building trade.

His city job "was just a stepping stone for him," Moran said. "He was preparing himself to move on."

Moran said he could not imagine Pham's feelings but speculated that the loss of his job and poor prospects in private industry might have affected him.

"You know, it's bad times and construction is down and then you get your pink slip ... what's waiting for you, you know?" Moran asked.

However, the Fountain Valley man seemed normal in the days before his death, his brother, John Pham, told the Register.

"When layoffs were coming, he thought he was probably going to be rehired" by the new contractor, he said.

Other cities have wrung concessions from their workers as they struggle with budget gaps and huge future costs for pensions.

However, Costa Mesa, which currently spends about $15 million on retirement benefits, decided to outsource firefighting and some maintenance and clerical jobs in order to deal with a current $1.4
million budget deficit.

Some city workers accused the council of not even attempting to work with employees to bring down costs.

"Obviously, it's a charged atmosphere," Councilman Stephen Mensinger told the Register on Friday, calling Pham's death "heartbreaking."

Efforts by state and local governments to stop budget bleeding have sparked job fears among thousands of public workers.

School districts in California have issued at least 19,000 layoff notices to teachers and other employees, according to the California Teachers Association.

Cost-cutting efforts have sparked angry fights in several places, most notably in Wisconsin, where a judge on Friday temporarily blocked the state's new law that strips most public workers of nearly all their collective-bargaining rights.

The measure was approved last week only after a three-week stalemate during which Senate Democrats fled the state to prevent a vote and tens of thousands of people demonstrated against the
measure.

(© Copyright 2011 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

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