County Settles Harassment Lawsuit for $750,000

The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday agreed to settle a sexual harassment lawsuit for $750,000 with a former Sheriff’s Department deputy who said her supervisor at Pitchess Detention Center continually made sexual advances and once touched her breast.

The board voted unanimously--and without discussion--to pay Charlotte Landolfi $750,000 as part of the settlement agreement.

County attorneys suggested settling after warning that a jury might have awarded Landolfi as much as $3.57 million for what the former deputy described as constant harassment, which made it impossible for her to continue working.

“We believe this is a very high-risk case for a jury trial,” concluded a memo prepared by the county counsel’s office. “It will be Charlotte Landolfi’s word against her supervisor’s word. Charlotte Landolfi, an attractive woman, appears to all that meet her to be extremely credible and likeable. She will make an excellent witness. Other female deputies have now come forward to claim that the supervisor that harassed Ms. Landolfi sexually harassed them, and they will testify to that effect at the trial for Charlotte Landolfi.”

The supervisor, whose name has not been released, has been placed on administrative leave pending the results of a Sheriff’s Department investigation, a department spokesman said.

An earlier Sheriff’s Department internal investigation concluded that there was no evidence of sexual harassment.

The Sheriff’s Department declined to comment on the case.

Landolfi was hired by the Sheriff’s Department in January 1990. After one year working at Sybil Brand Institute, Landolfi--who was 33 years old at the time--transferred to the North Facility at Pitchess Detention Center in Castaic.

In July 1991--after she had been at Pitchess six months--Landolfi received a new supervisor. Landolfi said the harassment started from the day of the man’s arrival, according to the county counsel report.

Neither Landolfi nor her attorney could be reached for comment Tuesday.

According to the county report, the harassment by Landolfi’s supervisor included: repeated sexual advances; touching her breast; frequently staring at her private parts; demonstrating favoritism toward another female deputy with whom he was allegedly having a consensual relationship, and making offensive statements, such as “women do not belong in the department.”

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Landolfi said the alleged abuse hit a low point on July 16, 1992, when the county report states: “The inmates threatened to sexually assault her, and that her superior sided with the inmates and chastised her in front of the inmates for being incompetent.”

After that incident, the report said, “the inmates would often threaten her with comments such as ‘the brass is on our side,’ and ‘we can do to you whatever we want.’ ”

The report said Landolfi became “terrified” of prisoners.

Two weeks after the inmate incident, the report said that Landolfi attempted to secretly tape-record a meeting she had with her supervisor.

Landolfi said she wanted to record the offensive statements the supervisor often made. Instead, the tape recorder started to beep and she was ordered to surrender the recorder.

Shortly afterward, Landolfi was reprimanded for working a back-to-back shift, and was told that she was going to be investigated for attempting to make the tape recording without permission.

The investigation led to a recommendation to suspend Landolfi for 15 days, but the order was never implemented because Landolfi went on stress leave on July 30--two weeks after the inmate incident.

Later, Landolfi was relieved of her duty because a psychologist said she was unable to perform her job, according to the report.

Afterward, Landolfi charged the supervisor with sexual harassment, but the department’s internal investigation found that there was no evidence of harassment.

A second investigation is ongoing, county officials said.

Landolfi, who received a disability retirement from the county in October 1995, has been treated by a psychologist for 2 1/2 years.

According to the report, the harassment has caused her to suffer severe emotional distress, depression, headaches, inability to sleep, loss of self-esteem, recurring nightmares and chronic fatigue syndrome.