D.A. Will Probe Welfare Prober

Dist. Atty. Edwin L. Miller Friday ordered a review of allegations that a Department of Social Services fraud investigator was threatened by an investigator from Miller’s office for testifying about government corruption before the county grand jury.

However, in a letter to an attorney representing Social Services investigator David Sossaman, Miller also made it clear that he doubts the validity of Sossaman’s allegations. Miller said Sossaman’s charges contained “errors and half-truths.”

“Nonetheless, your complaint will be sent for staff review, as we do with all complaints made about employees of this office,” said Miller in the letter to attorney Michael D. Curran.

On Thursday, Miller received a letter from Curran, who outlined Sossaman’s charges against district attorney investigator Jonas Pumphrey. Curran asked Miller to investigate Sossaman’s charges that Pumphrey allegedly “threatened to get me.”

According to Sossaman, Pumphrey threatened him when he learned that Sossaman told the county grand jury that Pumphrey covered up the results of some investigations of employee fraud and mishandled others.

Members of the district attorney’s staff deny that there is a vendetta against Sossaman, but have conceded that Pumphrey and another investigator went to three jewelry stores where Sossaman worked part-time as a security guard and demanded to see his employment records. They have said that activity was coincidental and part of a separate investigation.

A committee of the grand jury is investigating allegations of corruption and malfeasance in the Department of Social Services involving welfare fraud. Fraud investigations are conducted with the assistance of investigators from the district attorney’s special investigations unit.

Miller’s letter to Curran contained several critical comments. Miller noted that, although Curran’s letter was marked personal and confidential, “it was released to the news media even before (it) arrived in our office.”

“Such conduct does not bespeak sincerity,” said Miller’s letter.

Miller’s two-page letter did not directly address Sossaman’s allegation that Pumphrey threatened retaliation against him. In the letter, Curran and Sossaman claimed that Pumphrey went to Lee Loveall, Sossaman’s supervisor, and said, “I was raked over the coals by the grand jury because of information they got from Sossaman, and paybacks are a bitch.”

“The comment attributed to Pumphrey related to purported grand jury testimony,” said Dist. Atty. spokesman Steve Casey. “It is inappropriate for us to be speaking to matters relating to the grand jury. It is a matter that will have to be addressed later.”

On Friday, Sossaman refused to back down from the charges that he raised against Pumphrey.

“The reason why I went public is because I assumed things will be covered up. I went public because I felt I was being retaliated against. I couldn’t go to the grand jury right now because they’re on break,” said Sossaman.