San Fernando Parks Chief Files Complaint Amid Inquiry

Embattled city parks director Jess Margarito filed a complaint Friday with state fair employment officials alleging that city officials launched an investigation of him in retaliation for his support of sexual harassment charges against another city employee.

A spokesman for the state Department of Fair Employment and Housing in Los Angeles confirmed that a complaint was received Friday afternoon from Margarito and five other city employees, but said he did not have specific information about the claim’s contents.

“Six people did come in and filed a complaint against the city of San Fernando,” said Steve White, the employment department’s district administrator in Los Angeles.

White said that acceptance of a complaint does not imply that his department believes the allegations. He said cases are accepted on the basis that the information provided suggests that if it were true--and provable--it would be a violation of state law.

“We basically assume everyone is telling the truth at the intake stage, and then we look into the matter,” said White, adding that city officials would probably be notified of the investigation in three to four weeks.

Margarito could not be reached for comment Friday. However, Marshal Diaz, a community activist and friend who helped Margarito file his claim with the employment department, said Margarito is seeking a thorough and fair investigation of the allegations against him and the sexual harassment charges against a former parks department employee, who has not been identified.

“The city is not aware of all the documentation,” Diaz said of the original sexual harassment charges. “We just want an objective analysis of what is going on.”

City Atty. Julia Sylva declined to comment on the allegations in the employment department claim, saying, “We will have to wait to see what they have to say.”

Margarito, a longtime community activist who was elected to the City Council in 1984 and later elected mayor by his council colleagues, is under investigation by the district attorney’s office and city officials.

Officials would not discuss the specific nature of those investigations, but other City Hall sources say Margarito is under criminal investigation for allegedly falsifying records for court-referred workers and for using them at his home.

Margarito is also apparently under investigation for allegedly failing to repay loans from a nonprofit community group and failing to account for revenues generated by the rental of city recreation facilities.

The city employee who was accused of sexual harassment--a former parks department supervisor who was transferred to the Public Works Department--was cleared of any wrongdoing by a city personnel investigation. But he, in turn, triggered the investigation of Margarito.

At the direction of the City Council, Sylva is reviewing Margarito’s personnel file to determine whether administrative action is warranted.

No charges have been filed against Margarito, who remains in his $62,000-a-year job as director of community services and recreation.