It is a painful hatred that is rarely seen in law enforcement circles, or at least those that boil into the public.
For more than seven years, Orange County’s top attorney and a decorated former policeman have been in a fierce dispute that has barely diminished. Both sides accuse the other of the ethics and corruption involved in breaking, and even an independent arbitrator, likening the situation to a boiling cauldron.
Damon Tucker, a former county supervisory investigator, claimed in the lawsuit that he found potential evidence of money laundering, terrorist threats and blackmail. Atti. Todd Spitzer. Tucker claimed in the lawsuit that Spitzer and others dropped the investigation and then fired investigators in retaliation, leaving him humiliated and evaded by law enforcement.
Spitzer publicly called Tucker a “dirty cop” and accused him of working with his opponents, including the former Orange County district. Atti. Tony Rackauckas – Launch an investigation to hurt him politically. Spitzer said Tucker's actions were “a shame to the badge.”
Now, in another escalation of this Orange County drama, Tucker calls on California Attorney General, the U.S. Department of Justice, California State Law Firm and others to investigate Spitzer; OCDA Bureau of Investigation Director Paul Walters; and the former Chief Assistant District. Atti. Shawn Nelson, now a judge in the Orange County Superior Court.
“These allegations must be fully investigated. Failure to investigate these people has a shadow on our just system,” Tucker wrote in a letter to these agencies.
Tucker calls for an appeal to investigate incidents dating back to nearly a decade as the District Attorney’s Office is already facing increasing scrutiny on its treatment of employees. Spitzer and Nelson retaliated against their allegations next week against female employees, both of whom have alleged that they were sexually harassed by former senior assistant Dist. Atti. Gary Logalbo, a friend of now-dead Spitzer.
Spitzer and Walters refused to discuss Tucker's allegations with The Times. Nelson also refused through a court spokesperson, saying the judge was prohibited by ethics from discussing cases in court or media reports.
The California Attorney General's Office confirmed it is reviewing Tucker's complaints but will not comment further. The state bar association also began reviewing the allegations and requested more information and documents, according to a letter reviewed by the New York Times. A spokesperson for the State Bar Association declined to comment or confirm whether the complaint was received, adding that the disciplinary investigation was confidential.
The U.S. Department of Justice will neither comment nor confirm that it has received the letter. Tucker said he also sent a letter to the California Judicial Performance Commission. The committee also declined to comment.
Tucker is an experienced investigator who was fired in December 2020 for accusing him of unilateral investigation into Spitzer shortly after taking office.
Tucker sued the county – accusing him of being fired and retaliated for exposing corruption – in 2022 he won a job, as well as a lost wage. Last year, he received a $2 million court settlement from the county, according to Tucker's lawyers.
Kimberly Edds, a spokesman for the District Attorney’s Office, said Tucker and Spitzer signed a non-government management agreement as part of the settlement that prevented the office from commenting.
Tucker's allegations were dated as an investigation that began in October 2016, when another district attorney, Tom Conklin, was assigned to assist the Fair Political Practice Commission to investigate Spitzer's allegations of campaign finance irregularities, who was then a director of Orange County but was considering running for a district attorney.
Tucker, in recent letters to multiple agencies and in his lawsuit, alleged that the investigation into Spitzer has not been completed, and although he and another investigator had suggested forwarding it to the FBI or the state attorney general, the investigation was never referred to an outside agency.
A year after the 2016 investigation began, Conklin's report was leaked to the Orange County Register, which said Conklin could not confirm the allegations.
Spitzer just announced the leak of his campaign for district attorney. then, He told the Register The investigation was politically motivated by his political rival Rackauckas and found nothing. At the time, a Rackauckas spokesman confirmed the investigation but declined to comment on the allegations.
The leak triggered an internal investigation by the District Attorney’s Office, and Tucker was ordered to complete the case when the initial investigator retired.
Tucker's task was to find out who leaked the report, but after reviewing the case, Tucker concluded that Conklin's investigation was incomplete.
At least 10 confirmed witnesses have never interviewed and followed several clues, and were awarded a senior deputy deputy prosecutor he consulted in the case, according to an investigation summary written by Tucker.
During the investigation, Tucker contacted superiors and colleagues in the district attorney's office and said the allegations against Spitzer need to be sent to external agencies such as the FBI for a fair review.
Tucker said things suddenly changed when he continued to investigate and was preparing to send the case to an external agency.
Tucker said the day after being elected district attorney in 2018, Tucker said Walters ordered him to stop digging charges and removed Spitzer's name from his investigation in his investigation in summary and sworn in case of investigation brought in Tucker's lawsuit against the county. Two days later, Tucker was removed from the case.
Walters was sworn in to confirm that he ordered Tucker to remove the questions about Spitzer from the investigation, and Spitzer became elected district attorney.
“That's what I have to tell Tucker, 'You can't ask all these questions about spitzer,” Walters Testfif said. “It's not. I asked him to edit all of this stuff.”
Tucker insisted that Walters supported his investigation until the election.
“I’m doing the right thing,” Tucker told The Times. “This should be sent out.” Walters refused to respond to the accusation.
But a spokesman for the District Attorney’s Office said Tucker refused to hand over the investigation.
“He had the opportunity and refused to do so,” said DAS spokesman Edds. “He was repeatedly offered the opportunity.”
Tucker questioned that claim.
Spitzer described Tucker's investigation as political motives and showed that Tucker donated money to his rival Rackauckas and was a friend of Rackauckas' chief of staff Susan Kang.
Tucker donated $2,000 to the Rackauckas campaign in August 2018 after being assigned to investigate the leak, according to county records.
Tucker was critical of Spitzer both before and after his case was filed.
“I think they sent him on this fishing expedition and I gave myself to me after the 2018 primary,” Spitzer said in his testimony. “Is he investigating me while making a significant campaign contribution to my opponent? It's not objective.”
