A blood feud rocks O.C. law enforcement

It’s a bitter feud the likes of that are seldom seen in regulation enforcement circles — or not less than those who boil over into public view.

For over seven years now, Orange County’s prime prosecutor and a adorned former cop have been locked in an acrimonious dispute that exhibits little signal of abating. Each events have accused the opposite of fractured ethics and corruption, and even an impartial arbitrator likened the scenario to a simmering cauldron.

Damon Tucker, a former supervising investigator for the county, has alleged in a lawsuit that he uncovered potential proof of cash laundering, terrorist threats and extortion by his then-boss, Orange County Dist. Atty. Todd Spitzer. Tucker claims in his lawsuit that Spitzer and others quashed the probe after which fired the investigator as an act of retaliation, leaving him humiliated and shunned by regulation enforcement.

Spitzer has publicly referred to as Tucker a “soiled cop,” and accused him of working together with his opponents — together with former Orange County Dist. Atty. Tony Rackauckas — to launch an investigation to harm him politically. Tucker’s habits, Spitzer says, was a “shame to the badge.”

Now, in one more escalation of this Orange County drama, Tucker has referred to as on the California legal professional basic, the U.S. Division of Justice, the State Bar of California and different companies to analyze Spitzer; the OCDA Bureau of Investigation Chief Paul Walters; and former Chief Assistant Dist. Atty. Shawn Nelson, who’s now an Orange County Superior Court docket choose.

“These allegations have to be totally investigated,” Tucker wrote in a letter to these companies.“Failure to analyze these males casts a shadow over our system of justice.”

Tucker’s name for an investigation of occasions courting again practically a decade comes because the district legal professional’s workplace is already going through elevated scrutiny over its remedy of staff. Each Spitzer and Nelson face a possible civil trial subsequent week over accusations they retaliated in opposition to feminine staff who say they had been sexually harassed by former Senior Assistant Dist. Atty. Gary LoGalbo, a onetime pal of Spitzer’s who’s now deceased.

Spitzer and Walters have declined to debate Tucker’s accusations with The Instances. Nelson, by a courtroom spokesperson, additionally declined, saying judges had been prohibited by moral guidelines from discussing instances earlier than the courtroom or in media reviews.

The California Legal professional Common’s workplace confirmed that it’s reviewing Tucker’s grievance however wouldn’t remark additional. The State Bar has additionally begun a evaluation of the allegations and has requested extra info and documentation, in line with a letter reviewed by The Instances. A spokesperson for the State Bar declined to remark or affirm whether or not a grievance was acquired, including that disciplinary investigations are confidential.

The U.S. Division of Justice would neither remark nor affirm that it had acquired the letter. Tucker stated he additionally despatched a letter to California’s Fee on Judicial Efficiency. The fee additionally declined to remark.

A veteran investigator of practically 30 years, Tucker was fired from the DA’s workplace in December 2020 over allegations he had initiated a unilateral investigation into Spitzer shortly after he took workplace.

Tucker sued the county — alleging he was fired and retaliated in opposition to for uncovering corruption — and in 2022 he gained his job again, together with misplaced wages. Final yr, he acquired a $2-million out-of courtroom settlement from the county, in line with Tucker’s legal professional.

Kimberly Edds, a spokesperson for the district legal professional’s workplace, stated a non-disparagement settlement signed by Tucker and Spitzer as a part of the settlement prevented the workplace from commenting.

Tucker’s accusations date to an inquiry that was begun in October 2016, when one other district legal professional investigator, Tom Conklin, was assigned to help the Truthful Political Practices Fee in trying into allegations of marketing campaign finance irregularities by Spitzer, who was on the time an Orange County supervisor however was contemplating a run for district legal professional.

In his latest letter to a number of companies, in addition to in his lawsuit, Tucker alleges the investigation into Spitzer was left unfinished and, regardless that he and one other investigator at one level urged it must be forwarded to the FBI or state legal professional basic, the investigation was by no means referred to an outdoor company.

A yr after the 2016 investigation started, Conklin’s report was leaked to the Orange County Register, and the newspaper reported that Conklin had been unable to corroborate the allegations.

The leak got here at a key time for Spitzer, who had simply introduced his marketing campaign for district legal professional. On the time, he advised the Register the investigation had been politically motivated by his political rival, Rackauckas, and that nothing had been discovered. On the time, a spokesperson for Rackauckas confirmed the investigation however declined to touch upon the allegations.

The leak sparked an inside investigation within the district legal professional’s workplace and, when the preliminary investigator retired, Tucker was ordered to complete the case.

Tucker was tasked with discovering out who leaked the report, however after reviewing the case, Tucker concluded that Conklin’s investigation was incomplete.

A minimum of 10 recognized witnesses within the case had been by no means interviewed, and a number of other leads had not been adopted, in line with an investigative abstract written by Tucker, and given to a senior deputy district legal professional he consulted with within the case.

Throughout his investigation, Tucker reached out to superiors and colleagues on the district legal professional’s workplace and stated the allegations in opposition to Spitzer wanted to be despatched out to an outdoor company, such because the FBI, for an neutral evaluation.

Tucker stated that as he continued to analyze and ready to ship the case to an outdoor company, issues instantly modified.

The day after Spitzer was elected district legal professional in 2018, Tucker stated Walters ordered him to cease digging into the accusations, and to take away any point out of Spitzer’s identify from questions in his investigation, in line with an investigative abstract and sworn depositions, taken in Tucker’s lawsuit in opposition to the county. Two days later, Tucker was faraway from the case.

In a sworn deposition, Walters confirmed he ordered Tucker to take away questions on Spitzer from his investigation the day Spitzer turned the district attorney-elect.

“That’s the place I’ve to inform Tucker, ‘You’ll be able to’t be asking all these questions on Spitzer,” Walters testfied. “It’s not the case. And I make him redact all that stuff.”

Tucker maintains that, up till the election, Walters supported his investigation.

“I used to be doing the best factor,” Tucker advised The Instances. “This could have been despatched out.” Walters declined to answer The Instances about that accusation.

Nonetheless, a spokesperson for the district legal professional’s workplace stated it was Tucker who refused to show over the investigation.

“He was given the chance and declined to take action,” stated Edds, the D.A’.s spokesperson. “He was provided the chance repeatedly.”

Tucker disputes that assertion.

Spitzer has characterised Tucker’s investigation as being politically motivated, and has identified in sworn depositions that Tucker had donated to his opponent, Rackauckas, and was associates with Rackauckas’ chief of employees, Susan Kang.

In keeping with county data, Tucker made a $2,000 donation to Rackauckas’ marketing campaign in August 2018, after he’d been assigned to analyze the leak.

Tucker had additionally been vital of Spitzer throughout the marketing campaign in a number of Fb posts, earlier than and after he took up the case.

“I believe they despatched him off on this fishing expedition to get one thing on me after the first election in 2018,” Spitzer stated in a deposition. “He’s investigating me whereas he’s making a serious marketing campaign contribution to my opponent? That’s not goal.”