District Attorney John Sarsfield has set a date for settlement
talks with two women who have threatened litigation claiming he’s
having an inner-office affair that has led to a hostile
workplace.
District Attorney John Sarsfield has set a date for settlement talks with two women who have threatened litigation claiming he’s having an inner-office affair that has led to a hostile workplace.
But the two sides agreed they won’t disclose that date, according to Bill Marder, lawyer for the two victim witness workers, Katie Fancher and Julie Roybal.
“That’s pretty much where we are,” Marder said. “If we don’t settle, we’ll promptly file a suit.”
The women filed a complaint with the county on June 9 alleging he’s having an affair with office manager Nancy Leon. They’ve threatened to sue Sarsfield and the county, according to Marder. Sarsfield has denied the allegations.
The women claim Sarsfield has frequently favored her since his tenure began in January 2003. That includes his recently proposed plan – which the Board of Supervisors postponed – to reorganize his office and give Leon more authority.
After receiving the complaint, San Benito hired a lawyer from a firm that specializes in employment issues as its counsel. The firm – Liebert, Cassidy & Whitmore – then hired an investigator to conduct a probe of the office.
That investigation is not done, according to county personnel director Liz Brown. But she hopes it is finished at some point in August, she said. Such investigations, the ones that are considered prompt, can take up to a year, she said.
“We’re moving on it as quickly as we possibly can,” Brown said.
Lawyer Richard Bolanos, who’s representing the county, didn’t return phone calls to his office Wednesday. And Sarsfield’s lawyer, Jon Giffen, was out of his Monterey office Wednesday and couldn’t be reached for comment.
If Sarsfield or the county do come to a settlement with the two women, the conditions, including any dollar amounts involved, would be a public record.
