California High Speed Rail Boondoggle Chief Nabbed For Domestic Violence
Ian Choudri, the CEO of the California High-Speed Rail Authority, was arrested at his Folsom home earlier this month on suspicion of domestic battery, officials said Monday. Authorities took Choudri, 57, and his fiancée…
Ian Choudri, the CEO of the California High-Speed Rail Authority, was arrested at his Folsom home earlier this month on suspicion of domestic battery, officials said Monday.
Authorities took Choudri, 57, and his fiancée Lyudmyla Starostyuk, 46, into custody just after midnight Feb. 4 on suspicion of battery against a spouse, according to the L.A. Times. The arrest happened just hours after an appearance beside Gavin Newsom at a rail event in Kern County, where the pair announced the completion of a 150-acre facility that will serve as a hub for construction on the rail project.
Choudri was arrested after an alleged fight between Starostyuk and Choudri’s 17-year-old daughter where officers claim Starostyuk “pulled her hair and pushed her” before locking her out of the house, according to police recordings reviewedby the Sacramento Bee.
Police were called to the home by a third party and the Sacramento County District Attorney’s Office did not file charges in the case.
“The High-Speed Rail Authority is aware of the matter and is reviewing it,” a spokesperson for the agency said in a statement to the Bee Monday night.
Choudri, one of the highest-paid state employees in California earning