SANTA ANA, Calif. (KNX) — Orange County District Attorney Todd Spitzer is facing a flurry of lawsuits against his office from employees who alleged he enabled harassment by promoting a friend to a senior position. Plaintiffs claimed Spitzer knew former D.A.’s office executive Gary LoGalbo was a “pervert” in his personal life, according to court documents.
According to the Voice of O.C., an independent investigation by county officials has confirmed a number of allegations against Spitzer’s office — namely, that LoGalbo harassed female subordinates and made racially derogatory comments toward colleagues.
The first lawsuit was filed by a Muslim female prosecutor who said she was sexually harassed by LoGalbo and was present when he referred to a public defender with an Islamic name as a “terrorist” to colleagues.
The victim said she was returning to her car after work in January 2020 when LoGalbo approached her from behind in his own vehicle and asked, “Hey baby, how much do you charge?” through an open window. He then blew several kisses to her and drove away, according to the suit. In later months, LoGalbo allegedly told the victim he wanted to “spank” her, referred to her under garments, and called her late at night to ask what she was wearing.
County attorneys have not disputed the harassment allegations. LoGalbo acknowledged the “terrorist” remark when questioned about it by county investigators.
Spitzer has publicly claimed he ordered a human-resources investigation as soon as the allegations of LoGalbo surfaced. He said that probe ultimately cleared all connected personnel of misconduct except LoGalbo.
But a lawsuit filed against the county suggested otherwise. An assistant D.A. who worked under LoGalbo and confronted Spitzer in February about the executive’s behavior testified to the county investigator that Spitzer said LoGalbo was his “best friend” and that he knew he was a “pervert in his personal life” but “promoted him twice anyway.”
Spitzer told the Voice the statements attributed to him by the assistant D.A. were “untrue.”
“I’m offended by that statement … it’s untrue,” he said.
LoGalbo was reportedly permitted to return to work after harassment was reported in 2020. Six other D.A.’s office officials corroborated a “lack of action taken against LoGalbo” after that initial report, according to the county investigation report.
County investigators also found that Spitzer ordered a supervisor to “write up” a victim-prosecutor who came forward with allegations against LoGalbo in her performance review for “lying” about his conduct. The supervisor reportedly refused to do so, and contacted county HR.
At this point, county attorneys got involved in investigating allegations against LoGalbo — though he reportedly kept working out of the D.A.’s office for five weeks after an initial report was made.
On Dec. 15, after O.C. officials stepped in, Chief Assistant D.A. Shawn Nelson announced in a staff-wide email that LoGalbo had “elected to retire” without explaining why.
The county expects to field as many as eight lawsuits in connection with LoGalbo’s alleged behavior.
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