2 Fired RTD Investigators File $1-Million Lawsuit

Two former investigators with the Southern California Rapid Transit District who were fired last summer filed suit in Los Angeles County Superior Court on Wednesday, charging that they were dismissed because they were seen as “whistle-blowers.”

Allen Laster and Richard Yeats are seeking more than $1 million in damages in the suit, which charges that they were fired July 18 because of the diligence of their investigation. The pair had been looking into allegations that Communications International, an Atlanta telecommunications firm, was certified by RTD officials to receive lucrative contracts meant for small, disadvantaged businesses--although the company was allegedly too large to qualify.

The investigation centered on allegations that the signature stamp of an RTD official who opposed the certification of Communications International was used without his knowledge to certify the firm as a small minority-owned company.