Latest news with #ToddSpitzer
CBS News
3 days ago
- Politics
- CBS News
Former Orange County prosecutor awarded $3 million in harassment lawsuit against DA Todd Spitzer
A former Orange County Assistant District Attorney was awarded $3 million by a San Diego jury this week after they found that she was forced to retire as a result of harassment from District Attorney Todd Spitzer and his assistant Shawn Nelson. Tracy Miller said that her time as the top female prosecutor working under the elected DA was tense and toxic. "There were days that I was terrified to go to work, especially after the report came out where I reported that Todd Spitzer was trying to fire a woman for merely reporting sexual harassment," Miller told CBS News Los Angeles. "I was scared to go. I thought I'd be fired any day." During a news conference on Friday, attorney John Barnett said that Miller was punished after she came forward with reports that a lower level DA's claim that a supervisor in the office named Gary LoGalbo was sexually harassing her. In the time since, more than a half dozen other women have filed related lawsuits against Orange County. "The people deserve better than the Orange County Board of Supervisors spending millions and millions and millions of taxpayer dollars defending this corrupt DA," Miller said. In response to the verdict, Spitzer shared a statement saying that he accepts full responsibility. In full, the statement said: "As the elected District Attorney, I accept full responsibility for any and all actions which occur in my administration, including my own actions and the actions of my former Chief Assistant District Attorney Shawn Nelson. When I became District Attorney in 2019, I was intently focused on reversing the "win at all costs" mentality of the prior administration which involved violating the constitutional rights of defendants by cheating and failing to discover evidence to the defense. I kept the prior executive management team, including Tracy Miller, as at-will employees held over from the Rackauckas administration in an effort to maintain stability and unite the office moving forward. I set a very high standard which I expected all my employees to meet, and Ms. Miller was overseeing extremely important assignments, including opioid litigation, the Huntington Beach oil spill, real estate fraud lawsuits, and grappling with a gang reduction program for school children that was facing serious financial issues. It is no secret that there was a lot of frustration on my part with her lack of performance in handling these very serious matters. In hindsight, I realize that I was not as sensitive to the issues Ms. Miller was facing at the time as I should have been, and for that I am truly sorry. I respect the jury's decision, and I am heartbroken over the fact that any of my actions could have been interpreted as anything other than a good faith effort to clean up the public corruption in the Orange County District Attorney's Office and to create a work ethic that adheres to what Orange County residents demand of its District Attorney." Miller said that she thinks the board of supervisors should hold Spitzer accountable. Supervisor Katrina Foley, who worked as an employee rights attorney, shared a quote after the verdict, which read in part, "I strongly support providing a safe, healthy and positive working environment for all of our County employees. … I take very seriously my legal duty as a County Supervisor to ensure our elected department heads comply with our Equal Employment Opportunity Policy." Nelson currently works as a Orange County Superior Judge and LoGalbo retired during the claims. He has since died.
Associated Press
4 days ago
- Business
- Associated Press
Jury awards California prosecutor $3 million after she says she was forced out of her position
SAN DIEGO, Calif. (AP) — A jury in California on Thursday awarded more than $3 million in damages to a former Orange County prosecutor who alleged the county's district attorney targeted her and forced her out of her position after she tried to protect women in the office from retaliation for accusing a supervisor of sexual harassment. The verdict marks the end of a two-week trial in San Diego in which former district attorney supervisor Tracy Miller accused Orange County District Attorney Todd Spitzer and former Chief Assistant District Attorney Shawn Nelson of a laundry list of misconduct that she said the county did not reasonably respond to, the Orange County Register reported. 'She was thrilled the jury came back and recognized what happened to her,' said Miller's attorney Bijan Darvish. 'But also reliving everything brings back some of the emotional feelings she was feeling at the time.' The penalties awarded were for the former high-ranking prosecutor's future economic loss and emotional distress. Miller sued the county, Spitzer and Nelson after she said she was essentially forced to leave her position in 2021. Spitzer and Nelson have denied these claims, while their attorney said Miller was not demoted and didn't lose pay or job duties. Spitzer said in a statement that he respects the jury's decision but that when he became district attorney in 2019, he 'inherited an office in chaos' and did the best he could given the many overwhelming issues they were facing. 'I am heartbroken over the fact that any of my actions could have been interpreted as anything other than a good faith effort to clean up the public corruption in the Orange County District Attorney's Office and to create a work ethic that adheres to what Orange County residents demand of its District Attorney,' he said. Miller accused Spitzer and Nelson of humiliating her, using 'gender-based slurs,' disrespecting her and undermining her authority. She said the situation became especially contentious after she cooperated with the investigator looking into sexual harassment allegations against then-district attorney supervisor Gary Logalbo in 2020. She accused Nelson of speaking badly about the women who spoke out. She also said Spitzer attempted to get one of the women written up for accusing Logalbo, who was the best man at Spitzer's wedding. Afterwards, Miller said Spitzer targeted her and criticized her for taking notes during executive meetings, according to the Los Angeles Times. Spitzer and Nelson have denied these claims. Logalbo, who died in 2021, was found to have harassed four female attorneys. The county, Spitzer and Nelson are liable for the $3 million in damages. Miller was also awarded $25,000 in punitive damages, less than the more than $300,000 requested by her attorney. Tracey Kennedy, an attorney for the county, Spitzer and Nelson had argued against punitive damages beyond the $3 million, saying the verdict was enough. 'A public verdict sends the message,' she said in court. When Spitzer became district attorney, federal authorities were investigating allegations that county officials illegally used prisoners to try to get incriminating information from defendants awaiting trial. County authorities have repeatedly denied the existence of such an operation. Miller, who had been a prosecutor for more than 20 years, was overseeing such important assignments as opioid litigation and the Huntington Beach oil spill, according to Spitzer. Darvish said in court on Thursday that Miller had long dreamed of being a prosecutor and in her position had opened the door for future generations of female prosecutors. 'It wasn't an accident, it wasn't negligence, it was intentional,' he said.
Los Angeles Times
30-04-2025
- Los Angeles Times
Orange County crime victims call for changes in laws
Orange County District Attorney Todd Spitzer and crime victims Tuesday held a rally calling on state lawmakers to tighten up loopholes they say will allow for violent criminals to earn early release from prison. The theme of the office's annual crime victims rally was 're-victimization,' as victims and their loved ones worry that convicts they thought would never get out could still get a pass. Orange County Board of Supervisors Chairman Doug Chaffee told those gathered outside the offices for prosecutors and sheriff's deputies that the county will 'stand up for victims every step of the way ... even as laws change and challenges arise.' Irvine Police Chief Michael Kent decried 'flaws in our system' regarding 'current parole and re-sentencing laws.' He said victims were experiencing 'the painful reality of re-victimization. The justice you thought was served is being reconsidered.' State legislators have changed murder laws, eliminating a theory of liability for anyone associated with a killing being eligible for murder convictions no matter their level of involvement. Now prosecutors must show a more direct involvement in carrying out a murder. Since lawmakers made the change retroactive, many convicts have petitioned for reconsideration and have been able to gain freedom. 'It's a re-opening of wounds you worked so hard to heal,' Kent said. 'You should never have to fight for the justice you already earned.' Jacki Chalabian Jernigan, whose sister Dr. Jeanine Rose Chalabian was killed Oct. 10, 1997 by her estranged husband, Hratch Baliozian, detailed how she lost her struggle to keep the defendant behind bars. She noted that when he was sentenced to 35 years to life in prison in 1999 the judge said the defendant's last breath should be taken behind bars. Baliozian reached out to his children during the COVID-19 pandemic for help getting out of prison. She said he was denied parole in recent years because he did not complete some courses and had not shown any remorse. But instead of waiting another three years for a parole hearing, he was allowed to try again in a year and a half because he took the courses and was released, she said. Jernigan appealed for a full parole board to reconsider in September, but the decision was not overturned, she said. She was also unable to get a restraining order against him. 'I still do not know where he is,' she said. 'With the internet he can find all of our addresses but we can't know his. It's terrible. This is wrong.' ' ... Pre-meditated murder is just that,' Jernigan continued. 'This level of evil should never be released ... I pray this broken system can be improved.' Susan Montemayor Gutierrez, whose husband David Monetemayor was kidnapped and killed in a plot conceived by his sister in Buena Park on Oct. 2, 2002, bemoaned how one of the victim's convicted killers has been released and his sister is appealing to have her sentence reconsidered under the new state law. Three of Montemayor's killers have been condemned to death and two were sentenced to life in prison without parole. Gerardo Lopez's case was sent to juvenile court and he was eventually released at the border and allowed to 'self-deport,' she said. Deborah Perna, 68, is appealing to have her conviction reconsidered. 'David's sister solicited the murder,' she said. 'She had full understanding of what she was doing.' Montemayor Gutierrez said a hearing will be held in Orange County in the next couple of months. 'She will be trying to downplay her role in the murder,' she said. 'I don't think she will ever ... accept responsibility for her role in the murder.' She said she was hopeful the petition will be denied, but added that might be 'naive.' The mother of an 8-year-old boy sexually assaulted by Matthew Zakrzewski, 36, who was sentenced in November 2023 to 707 years to life in prison for molesting 16 boys and exposing a 17th to child pornography, criticized a loophole in the law that allows for the early release of some inmates who reach the age of 50 and have served more than 20 years in prison. Zakrzewski was eligible for parole in May 2039, according to the state Department of Corrections. If he is granted parole, it is likely prosecutors would seek to have him committed to a state mental health hospital as a sexually violent predator. Spitzer praised the boy's mother, who appealed along with prosecutor Robert Mestman, for lawmakers to close the loophole. Spitzer was impressed the proposal got out of a public safety committee. The county's top prosecutor said he was 'quite frankly blown away' by the testimonials from crime victims Tuesday. Spitzer said he was encouraged by the passage of Prop. 36, which allows for increased punishment for recidivist drug and theft convicts. 'It's up to us,' he said. 'We have the power, the ability, the momentum.'
Telegraph
17-03-2025
- Telegraph
Ghillie suits and Maseratis: How Chilean gangs steal from America's ultra-rich
Prosecutors called them the 'Amazon' of organised crime. The thieves, most of them from Chile, allegedly raked in millions of dollars as they criss-crossed the US, stealing Rolex watches, Gucci handbags, iPads and debit cards on what one source described as the 'road-trip from hell'. According to a federal complaint filed last year, the operation was run out of a Los-Angeles car dealership where ringleaders of the gang provided vehicles for the thieves. In a single haul from a home in Missouri, gang members are accused of stealing 19 Rolex and Patek Philippe watches valued at £181,000 ($234,000), plus £7,700 ($10,000) in cash and £3,870 ($5,000) in gold bullion coins. Law enforcement has arrested more than 130 suspected criminals with ties to the group, which they eventually penetrated through an FBI informant – but not before the gang allegedly garnered at least £3.9m ($5m) in illicit proceeds. 'These criminals were running a burglary operation with a sophistication that rivals Amazon… instead of dispatching delivery drivers, they were dispatching trained thieves throughout Southern California,' said Todd Spitzer, the Orange County district attorney. Authorities believe the operation was just the tip of the iceberg, and that lax immigration rules provided a loophole for Chilean criminals to flood the US. Tren de Aragua has emerged as the most infamous migrant gang in the US after footage was released of its members toting guns in Aurora, Colorado last year. But as the vicious Venezuelan gangsters bear the brunt of the federal crackdown, Chilean criminals are quietly working behind the scenes. Usually, they split into smaller cells of approximately five members – although they will coordinate with each other on larger jobs – which allows them to stay nimble, target multiple victims, maximise their profits and evade the authorities. And if they do get broken up by law enforcement, then the damage is localised: there's no head of the serpent to cut off. At the same time, they are much more cautious than rival gangs, spending days scoping out houses to avoid potential confrontations. While their movements have been recorded in states including Colorado, North Carolina, Arizona, Texas, Virginia, Pennsylvania and others, much of their activity is concentrated around California thanks to its soft-on-crime attitude. The state's star-studded neighbourhoods and wealthy enclaves make for rich pickings for the patient and calculating criminals. In Orange County, where Mr Spitzer spent years waging war on Chilean crime rings, authorities have recovered camouflage ghillie suits used by gangsters to avoid the watchful eyes of neighbours as they camp out in the undergrowth to observe their targets. One source said they had been known to rent Maseratis and other high-end cars to scope out neighbourhoods without drawing suspicion. When they strike, they jam the home's security cameras – most domestic CCTV needs an internet connection to work – and usually enter through a first-floor window into the master bedroom, which likely contains a safe. The scores can total millions of dollars: but no target, seemingly, is too small. In one home break-in being prosecuted by Orange County, a Chilean man is accused of taking a young girl's birthday and Christmas money from her piggy bank. Authorities believe that the gangs have thousands of members spread across the US. In Orange County alone, at least a hundred cases are being prosecuted or are under investigation. But as sophisticated as these groups are, they're not above making blunders. Last month, seven Chilean men were charged with breaking into homes belonging to professional football players, including Travis Kelce, the Kansas City Chiefs star and boyfriend of singer Taylor Swift. Professional athletes made for relatively easy targets because teams publish schedules of their fixtures in advance, relieving the need for constant observation to make sure the homes are empty. The thieves are said to have approached the houses from cover – often a 'wooded or dark area' – to break in through a window or using a crowbar to wedge into a sliding door. In their brief crime spree, which is alleged to have taken place between October and December last year, they seized valuables, including sports memorabilia, worth more than £1.5m ($2m). They are said to have used burner phones to communicate, which they swapped every month, and used fake driving licences to hire rental cars to avoid leaving a trail. They were careful: but not careful enough for such a high-profile crime. What undid the alleged gang in the end was a selfie taken minutes after the burglary of a house belonging to Milwaukee Bucks star Bobby Portis, obtained by a search warrant of an Apple iCloud account. Two of the men were showing off a tray of expensive watches, flashing two fingers at the camera. A third had his foot on a damaged safe. Chile is the only South American state which is part of the US' visa waiver programme, which allows citizens of member countries to enter for 90 days at a time for just 16 ($21). Although Chile notionally provides the US with criminal records of applicants, many claim visa rules are being exploited by gangs to flood the country with their footsoldiers. Simon Hankinson, an immigration specialist with the Heritage Foundation think tank, is sceptical that the Chileans gang members have a clean criminal record when they come to the US. 'They're not some punk-ass kids' he said, noting that they manage to dismantle high-tech home security systems. Authorities have pushed the Trump administration to expel Chile from its visa waiver programme – so far without success, despite the US president's tough-on-crime rhetoric and repeated vows to take on migrant gangs. In the meantime, state law enforcement believe criminals are continuing to ride the coat-tails of the 350,000 Chileans who head to the US each year. 'They're not going to Disneyland,' a source said. 'They're going to steal from the houses next door to Disneyland.'
NBC News
10-03-2025
- NBC News
Thefts at athletes' homes underscore weakness in post-9/11 anti-terrorist program
Some of the suspected members of a theft ring charged with slipping into the homes of famous athletes to rob them entered the U.S. legally. But their arrests have underscored problems with a post-9/11 program that is supposed to vet certain travelers to keep out criminals and terrorists. Authorities in Florida have charged seven Chileans in connection with a string of million-dollar burglaries of homes of professional athletes across the country. Jewelry, cash, designer luggage and other items were stolen. NBC News confirmed that some of those charged in the thefts traveled to the country under the U.S. visa waiver partnership with Chile, and stayed longer than the three months they were allowed. That means they weren't required to have a visa to travel to the U.S. and could stay for up to three months. However, they would have been required to undergo a prescreening before traveling here, under what is known as the Electronic System Travel Authorization (ESTA) program, created in 2008. The ESTA approval aims to ensure that a foreign visitor is not a homeland security threat or not trying to exploit their travel. Trusted partner countries are supposed to help in this process by sharing background information on their citizens, including criminal records. The complaint filed against the seven Chileans, and another one filed in Ohio that names three of the seven, underscores what some prosecutors and others have pointed out is a weakness in the ESTA prescreening tool put in place after terrorists struck on U.S. land more than two decades ago. The vulnerability has come to light following a number of break-ins and thefts in Southern California and other parts of the country. Various elected officials have urged Congress, the Department of Homeland Security and the FBI to resolve the issue. Orange County, California, District Attorney Todd Spitzer arguably has been the most vocal about what he calls the 'loophole' in the Visa Waiver Program. 'Why in the world do we need professional athletes' homes to get broken into before this is at the top of the news again?' Spitzer said on Feb. 21 on The John Kolbyt Show, after charges against the seven Chileans were made public. 'I'm prosecuting more than 100 individuals from the country of Chile here in Orange County alone,' Spitzer said. 'They go into Disney World in Orlando. They traverse across the U.S. to Orange County, California, and they break in homes all along the way. They are not here to go to Disneyland. They are here to steal from us.' Deputy Chief Alan Hamilton of the Los Angeles Police Department said that despite the recent high-profile burglaries, such crimes are neither new nor limited to the most recognizable people. The thefts of homes in well-off neighborhoods have been going on for decades. He said there is some movement at the federal and local level to address the crimes, but did not get into specifics. In a Feb. 4 letter addressed to Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Spitzer asked for Chile to be removed from the visa waiver program as Argentina was in 2002. Spitzer has maintained that crimes by groups comprised of South Americans have occurred in all 50 states and that residential burglaries escalated in 2022. 'Organized crime rings have seized this opportunity to recruit, train and deploy highly sophisticated teams of burglars across the United States to break into American homes and businesses to steal cash, jewelry, firearms and other valuables,' Spitzer said in his letter. 'Crews deploy multiple surveillance teams, Wi-Fi jammers, cell phone jammers, electronic trackers and fake IDs to perfect their art of committing crime and elude capture.' The Florida and Ohio complaints accuse the suspects of using such tactics in the thefts. Spitzer's office did not agree to a request for comment but in a November interview with NBC News he said some people arrested in Orange County in connection with home break-ins and robberies have criminal records in Chile. 'In fact, one apparently was convicted of murder, but they continue to send these people here,' he said. Chile is the only South American country, among 42, in the Visa Waiver Program. It was admitted in 2014. Similar to travelers from the other visa waiver countries, Chilean citizens can come to the U.S. without a visa for 90 days at a time, bypassing the lengthy visa application process. In exchange, U.S. citizens can travel to those countries without visas. The Chilean government did not respond to a request for comment. The U.S. Attorney's Office for the Middle District of Florida, which filed the criminal complaint against the seven Chileans, said all seven were in the country illegally. That would mean some stayed beyond the 90 days allowed under the visa waiver program. Though NBC News confirmed that at least some of the Chileans charged in the thefts entered the U.S. using the Visa Waiver Program, the U.S. Attorney's Office, the Department of Homeland Security and Justice Department declined to provide specific information on how each of the seven Chileans had entered the country, whether any went through the ESTA program and whether any had criminal histories in the U.S. or Chile. A DHS spokesperson stated to NBC News in an email, 'We're getting these criminal aliens the heck out of the country and off American soil, never to return. We are committed to keeping America safe.' The seven named in the Florida complaint are Pablo Zuniga Cartes, Ignacio Zuniga Cartes, Bastian Jimenez Freraut, Jordan Quiroga Sanchez, Bastian Orellano Morales, Alexander Huiaguil Chavez and Sergio Ortega Cabello. Quiroga Sanchez, Orellano Morales, Ortega Cabello and Huiaguil Chavez are in custody in Ohio, Amy Filjones, a spokesperson in the Middle District of Florida's U.S. Attorney's office said. The first three are also named in a criminal complaint and arrest warrant in Ohio, in connection with a Dec. 9 a break-in and theft at the home of Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrows. The other three named in the Florida complaint remain at large, Filjones said. The investigation, arrests and charges all happened while President Joe Biden was in office, but the Florida complaint was unsealed after President Donald Trump's Jan. 21 inauguration. The case of Chile After the 2001 terrorist attacks, the U.S. sought to tighten up the Visa Waiver Program by screening visa waiver travelers for security risks. The U.S. also required visa waiver partner countries to provide background information, including criminal records, on their citizens before traveling to the U.S. or traveling through it to get elsewhere. The ESTA prescreening program requires citizens of visa waiver countries to fill out an application of about 15 'yes' or 'no' questions online and pay $21 in fees. If approved, they are allowed to travel to the U.S. for visits of 90 days at a time over two years, or until they have to renew their passport, whichever comes first. The system is automated. Once at ports of entry, admissibility is finally determined by Customs and Border Protection agents. The Biden administration attempted to reinforce screening of Chilean travelers in negotiations with the South American country. They secured an agreement in the summer of 2023 with Chile to enhance screening of travelers, among other things, as part of an arrangement that all Visa Waiver Program countries have to meet by December 2026. Chile is a major U.S. supplier of lithium, a major component for batteries in electric vehicles. Bernadette Meehan, former U.S. ambassador to Chile under Biden, did not respond to NBC News interview requests. But she acknowledged the problem in a December interview with CNN. The visa waiver program is a security agreement that comes with an exchange of data on cybersecurity threats, terrorism and more, and is mutually beneficial, she said. 'The challenge is Chile has been part of this program for 10 years and under this administration of President [Gabriel] Boric, we have progressed well,' she said. 'But there has been a period of eight years when Chile was not complying with the requirements and now we have the problem of the South American theft gangs in the U.S. that are robbing houses or are criminals and have been a big problem.' Chileans have ascribed the crimes to foreigners who moved to Chile and now have Chilean passports but, Meehan said, 'They are Chilenos, Chilenos, Chilenos, 100% ... What makes me sad is that they are a small percentage of Chilenos, but it is a serious problem.'
