Episode Transcript
[00:00:00] Last week, KMUD News reported on documents showing the funding relationship between the Humboldt Sheriff's Department and the Northern California Coalition to Safeguard Communities, or NCCSC for short, which is funded by the Howard Buffett Foundation. The documents also showed direct signatures from Humboldt Sheriff William Honsl in his role as NCCSC president, approving a $2.9 million wire transfer in total approved funds of over $3 million for the 20252026 fiscal year. Also included was over $500,000 in approved NCCSC funds directly for the Humboldt Sheriff's Department.
[00:00:43] While the NCCSC consistently makes claims that is combating human trafficking, its focus is almost entirely on cannabis enforcement to achieve that goal. Those financial disclosures were illuminating, but there is something else about the documents we obtained from Humboldt county that may be even more revealing. Reports and agreements from the last two years between the Howard Buffett foundation and the NCCSC detail specific reporting requirements, requirements that likely directly impact Humboldt County's law enforcement operations, for example, and and a document we obtained that details terms and agreements between the NCCSC and Howard G. Buffett foundation, also known by the acronym hgbf. It states, any change in the NCCSC Board of Directors must be reported immediately to the hgbf, including changes in the elected status of any individual board member. NCCSC Board of Directors positions are considered key staff and any change will immediately trigger a review of the NCCSC grant and could result in termination of future funding and return of any unused funds.
[00:02:00] This illustrates that the Buffett foundation is maintaining direct control over NCCSC staffing and decision making who work with NCCSC President William Honsel. Later in the same document, it's made clear that personnel decisions go beyond the NCCSC Board in the terms of the grant. It states, quote, the grantee shall immediately notify HGBF of any organizational changes during the term of the grant that may impact the implementation or the results of the project, including but not limited to, changes in key personnel in the project, key personnel of the grantee's organization, changes in tax status, or other substantive changes in the project or the organization which could impact the project.
[00:02:53] It's important to remember that the NCCSC is working directly with sheriff departments, and personnel changes could represent members of county law enforcement. While the language is vague, the mission of the NCCSC is carried out by the counties involved in the organization, especially Humboldt and Mendocino, whose sheriffs are the President and treasurer of the nccsc.
[00:03:19] These projects are accomplished as a result of action by law enforcement. That means that a foundation run and named for the child of a billionaire has a direct link to and reporting requirements impacting law enforcement across at least 44 Northern California counties. The NCCSC Terms and Agreement document also details specific reporting requirements which resulted in the interim and annual reports. Our document request to Humboldt county unearthed much of that is fairly standard and requires interim reports six months from a project or yearly start date followed by an annual report at 12 months. That reporting includes salaries, supplies, contracted services, and quite a few other cost categories. By funding the NCCSC instead of these sheriff's departments directly through grants, the Buffett foundation is likely saving itself from some scrutiny with a degree of separation. As shown in our previous reporting on documents from Lake and Humboldt counties, the NCCSC takes funding and requirements from the Howard Buffett foundation and then produces approved line item funding for each sheriff's department on an annual basis. Redacted interim reports produced by the NCCSC for the Howard Buffett foundation in 2025 and 2026, along with an annual report from 2025, detail some of the operational strategies employed by sheriff's departments utilizing nccsc.
[00:05:03] Since NCCSC leadership and its Public Information Officer are part of Mendocino and Humboldt County's Sheriff's offices, it's a bit unclear where the Sheriff's Office stops and action directly taken by the NCCSC begins. If there is even a difference in the 2025 NCCSC Annual Report produced for the Howard Buffett foundation, it states, to strengthen response efforts, Siskiyou county has onboarded a forensic interviewer and crime analyst. These roles are critical in conducting trauma informed interviews on the scene and in developing detailed profiles of potential suspects. To support ongoing investigations, Humboldt county has hired a Program Coordinator to oversee budget management, reporting and stat tracking, along with a Public Information Officer to to manage the website, social media accounts and media requests.
[00:06:01] This section illustrates a direct connection between Sheriff's Office personnel and Howard Buffett foundation reporting requirements. Along with NCCSE influence on the org chart of these departments. The 2025 NCCSC annual report also details relationships with private companies.
[00:06:20] One section reads, to enhance our ability to identify victims of human trafficking, our OPS team received training from DARC Staffing Solutions, who is a cannabis farm labor contractor. DARC Staffing Solutions explained proper wages, safe working conditions and the appropriate use of personal protective equipment for individuals in this line of work. This improves investigators capacity to understand proper working conditions.
[00:06:49] This collaboration also opens the door to a potential partnership with a company that places employees directly on farms we have asked the NCCSC repeatedly for information on contracted services and consultants but have yet to receive a reply. The annual report document also details NCCSC operations on DCC licensed cannabis farms. Reading it has become increasingly evident that some individuals are operating within both the legal and illegal cannabis markets to maximize monetary gain and in some cases benefits from tax write offs. This dual market strategy has created opportunities for bad actors within the legal market to exploit labor, violate Department of Cannabis Control regulations and disregard environmental standards.
[00:07:43] In year three, investigators served multiple search warrants at state licensed locations.
[00:07:48] As we move into Year four, investigative efforts will continue to focus on uncovering abuses within the regulated cannabis industry.
[00:07:59] A more recent document, the 2026 NCCSC Interim Report from March, shows that influence is growing beyond county sheriff's departments. One example is the office of Humboldt County's district attorney. A section of the 2026 document reads. A huge success we've had in the last few months is the hiring of a circuit prosecutor who started in February 2026.
[00:08:25] The Humboldt County DA office has contributed a HT circuit prosecutor to the coalition to provide more consistent expectations, support and and follow through in building human trafficking cases across all NCCSE counties.
[00:08:42] It is interesting that the Humboldt County DA is now contributing a prosecutor to multiple counties on behalf of the NCCSC and its mission. The 2026 NCCSC Interim Report also details partnerships and outreach involving the California Department of Cannabis Control in Shasta county, along with providing training for a Sheriff's Office crime analyst in Siskiyou County.
[00:09:09] Training goes beyond the government level, the 2026 report stated.
[00:09:15] To enhance detection and response capabilities in geographically remote areas.
[00:09:21] Our agency is strengthening coordination with local partners who maintain a physical presence in these locations.
[00:09:29] Because law enforcement personnel cannot be in all areas, specifically in locations where a search warrant is required, expanding awareness through trained partner networks is both strategic and necessary. Through this initiative, we will provide structured training to partner agencies, utility providers and other field based personnel on recognizing indicators of suspicious or unlawful activity, proper observation and documentation procedures and safe and secure reporting protocols.
[00:10:04] It is unclear if non sworn personnel like utility workers are being asked to simply look out for signs of human trafficking or for gray market cannabis grows. In general, patterns of NCCSC influenced enforcement assessment, especially those by helicopter, tend to look more generally for illegal cannabis along with signs of human trafficking. Although highly limited by multiple pages of redactions, financial information and reports from the NCCSC created for the Howard Buffett foundation provide some insight into the organization's structure and strategies. In particular, we now have a better understanding of the contractual relationship between the Howard Buffett Foundation, Northern California Coalition to Safeguard Communities, and multiple county governments and law enforcement in Northern California.
[00:11:03] Reporting for kmud, I'm April Lewis.
