SANTA ANA, Calif. (KNX) — A former prosecutor with the Orange County District Attorney’s Office has accused D.A. Todd Spitzer of retaliating against her, as well as mismanaging two high-profile murder cases.
Former Senior A.D.A. Tracy Miller filed a claim with the county on Feb. 22, alleging Spitzer created a hostile work environment and “forced her” to vacate her position through “purposeful and intentional retaliation.” Miller claimed the retaliation arose from reporting sexual misconduct by Gary Logalbo, a D.A. supervisor and long-time friend of Spitzer.
“Miller was punished for refusing to allow Spitzer to lionize the predator, gaslight, and further savage the reputation of the victims,” the claim said, which may serve as the basis for a lawsuit.
Logalbo has been accused of harassing four female attorneys. An independent county report appeared to support those allegations. A second independent report alleged Spitzer had spoken ill of at least one of the accusers, and improperly released findings of the initial investigation.
In her claim, Miller, who was involved in writing the county report on Logalbo’s alleged conduct, said Spitzer retaliated against her by yelling at her in front of other D.A.’s office employees. She was told to “just shut up” in one meeting, and was cut out of the investigative process.
She also alleged Spitzer’s top deputy, Chief A.D.A. Shawn Nelson, repeatedly claimed in Spitzer’s presence that Logalbo “did not have real victims of sexual harassment.”
Miller’s claim also alleged Spitzer mishandled two capital murder cases. She said the D.A. had improper contact with a man linked to the case against Aminadab Gaxiola Gonzalez, accused of fatally shooting four people at an office in Orange, and made “false and misleading” statements about that interaction.
Miller said Spitzer called Rafael Farias, the father of a 9-year-old victim of Gonzalez, that included a discussion of an unrelated grand theft case pending against him. Farias was already represented by an attorney in that case, and Miller subsequently alleged Spitzer’s conversation with him violated his right to counsel.
When Spitzer was later interviewed by a D.A.’s office investigator about his talk with Farias, Miller said he gave “a materially false and misleading account” that “could be viewed as an obstruction of justice.”
She is a former A.D.A. also doubled down on allegations that Spitzer made racially-charged comments while discussing pursuing the death penalty for Jamon Buggs, a Black man accused of killing a white couple in Newport Beach.
The allegations concerning Buggs arose from a memorandum written by former Senior A.D.A. Ebrahim Baytieh. Baytieh was fired after an investigation into whether he withheld evidence in a third murder case, resulting in that conviction being overturned. Baytieh’s allies say he was fired for blowing the whistle on Spitzer’s alleged racial biases.
Spitzer has denied Miller’s allegations, describing her as an A.D.A. “held over” from the administration of prior D.A. Tony Rackauckas. He characterized the accusations as politically motivated, aimed at destabilizing his reelection campaign.
“It is blatantly obvious that going into my re-election that both Baytieh and Miller coordinated efforts to embarrass me and deter me from my efforts to reverse the ‘win at all costs’ mentality, which involved violating the constitutional rights of defendants by cheating and failing to (turn over) discover evidence to the defense,” Spitzer said.
“These two managers were indoctrinated by a 20-year prior administration that taught you how to cheat, seek revenge and eviscerate your enemies,” Spitzer added. “Despite good-faith efforts it was impossible to change their entrenched attitudes and behavior.”
Miller’s accusations came after a video circulated on social media late on Wednesday of Spitzer repeatedly saying the “n-word” while recounting an alleged hate crime in a speech to the Iranian American Bar Association. Spitzer was quoting an alleged threat by Tyson Mayfield, a white man who was charged with hurling racial slurs at a Black pregnant woman at a Fullerton bus stop in 2019.
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