Aguirre Asks for $5 Million from Sheriff

Attorney Michael J. Aguirre filed a $5-million civil claim Friday against San Diego County Sheriff John Duffy in connection with a letter signed by Duffy that attacked Aguirre during the lawyer’s recent unsuccessful City Council campaign.

Aguirre said he filed the claim because he believes Duffy violated his civil rights under federal law by using his law enforcement position in a political campaign.

“It’s just unfortunate to have someone in the law enforcement community involve himself in a political campaign, which has been a no-no in American politics since the foundation of our country,” Aguirre said.

A Sheriff’s Department spokeswoman said Duffy has yet to be served with the claim but the sheriff would have no comment because it is a pending legal matter.

Lost Bitter Campaign

In November, Aguirre lost a bitterly contested campaign to former school board member Bob Filner for the council’s 8th District seat.

During the campaign, Duffy sent out a letter on Filner’s behalf. Under a bold heading that said “A Strong Warning From Sheriff Duffy,” the letter accused Aguirre of being a “practitioner of the BIG LIE.”

The letter describes Aguirre as being “slippery. I can tell you, however, where he stands on the most important issue: Integrity. He has none! “

In his claim, Aguirre cites a report by the 1975-76 San Diego County Grand Jury advising Duffy to dissociate himself from known and suspected organized crime figures.

Retaliation Claimed

Aguirre said the 1987 campaign letter was retaliation for Aguirre’s bringing the grand jury report and other information to the attention of the FBI after the sheriff was appointed to the President’s Organized Crime Commission. Duffy resigned from the commission in December, 1983, after a controversy over his alleged ties to organized crime figures at La Costa.

In a press conference explaining why he resigned from the commission, Duffy defended one of the reputed underworld figures, Morris B. (Moe) Dalitz, saying the then-owner of the La Costa resort was not a “mobster” because his name did not appear in files of the national Law Enforcement Intelligence Unit, a computerized crime intelligence bank.

Duffy maintained his defense of Dalitz although U.S. Senate probes since the 1950s and a 1978 California Organized Crime Control Commission report identified Dalitz as an underworld figure.

In another civil-rights matter connected to a campaign, a San Diego Superior Court judge ruled in 1985 that Duffy’s efforts to unseat former California Chief Justice Rose Bird constituted illegal political activity. A suit was brought against Duffy by the American Civil Liberties Union because the sheriff distributed 18,000 anti-Bird post cards in February, 1985.

Grand Jury Request

Before that ruling, the county grand jury had asked Duffy and Dist. Atty. Edwin Miller to refrain from supporting or opposing political candidates. Impartiality is necessary, the grand jury said, “to fully preserve the absolute integrity of the law enforcement agencies.”

Aguirre said Friday that his $5-million claim, filed with the county, is a forerunner to a lawsuit he will be filing in federal court against Duffy.