The Informant

Don Novey, former longtime president of the California Correctional Peace Officers Association, is expected in a Sacramento bankruptcy court Thursday morning. Filings with the US Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of California show that Novey and his wife, Carol, began Chapter 13 bankruptcy proceedings in May.

Novey served as president of the correctional officers’ union for over 20 years, until his retirement in 2002. He’s widely credited with building the union’s influence, to the point where it is considered one of the more powerful political players in state politics.

Most recently, Novey prominently supported Meg Whitman in her 2010 run for governor. Meanwhile, the CCPOA heavily backed Jerry Brown, the election’s eventual winner.

After the election, Novey told the Sacramento Bee that his reputation for political savvy remained mostly untarnished by the loss:

“The 63-year-old former Army intelligence officer and amateur boxer dismisses any notion that he’s suffered a mortal political wound. His bank account backs him up.

Law enforcement groups paid him at least $560,000 in fees in the past two years to dispense political advice, state records show. None has dumped him, Novey says.”

In 2011, the Noveys show an income of over $28,000 a month, though much of it is exempt. In 2010, the couple showed an income of about $400,000 in pension, gambling winnings, and unspecified other income. The same filings show that Novey owes $82,000 in state and federal taxes and a total of $630,000 to various creditors.

A chunk of the debt is real estate investments. Novey owes about $272,000 on his Rocklin home and another $95,000 on a Scottsdale, Arizona condo purchased in 2006.

The couple is scheduled to appear in Federal Judge Thomas Holman’s courtroom at 10:30am.

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