Lopez tracks down Rizzo in OC parking lot *

Instant classic Steve Lopez column in tomorrow's L.A. Times.

A tipster dropped me a line the other day to say she'd spotted an infamous former public official in Huntington Beach, working as a parking lot guard at the International Surfing Museum.

So I drove down Wednesday to have a look, and guess what: Humpty Dumpty has had a great fall.

Robert "Ratso" Rizzo seems to have a new job....

"You look famous," I said to him.

He shrugged.

That's when I introduced myself. Rizzo looked at me with surprise....

It seems that Rizzo, formerly the highest paid local official in America (or close to it) as the city administrator in Bell, is doing community service for his DUI bust in Orange County last year. Lopez tried chatting him up, but Rizzo wasn't very talkative. Still, their limited exchanges are amusing — as it is when Lopez urges some guys he bumps into it Starbucks to go tell Rizzo what they think of him. Memorable Don Barteletti photo too.

* Add Rizzo: The Daily Pilot, a sister community paper of the LAT's in Orange County, says Rizzo called the museum director and volunteered. "He's come up with some good ideas and implemented them — he's a self-starter," the director says. "He's got a head on his shoulders."