Rohrabacher Demands D.A. Probe of Accusations Against Deputy

Rep. Dana Rohrabacher demanded Tuesday that Dist. Atty. Michael R. Capizzi investigate allegations that Assistant Dist. Atty. Brent Romney used county time and resources to research the record of a judge running against Romney for district attorney.

Rohrabacher (R-Huntington Beach) blasted comments attributed Tuesday to Capizzi that he hadn’t received a complaint about the alleged misuse of county funds, which cannot be used for political activity. Capizzi said he was “always skeptical” of charges made in the press during a campaign.

Rohrabacher accused Capizzi of ignoring possible law violations while pursuing felonies against Republican activists for “more minor offenses.” Romney is prosecuting Rohrabacher’s wife and campaign manager, Rhonda Carmony, on charges of violating state election laws during the 1995 special election of Assemblyman Scott Baugh (R-Huntington Beach), also a prosecution target.

“Mr. Romney has brought felony charges against political activists who made minor mistakes,” Rohrabacher said in a statement late Tuesday. “Yet he apparently conspired to break the law himself to further his own career. . . . This is more than hypocrisy, and he should be prosecuted for both his crime and the conspiracy to commit that crime. If Mike Capizzi refuses to prosecute this case, a special prosecutor should be appointed.”

Chief Assistant Dist. Atty. Maury Evans, a spokesman for the office, said Tuesday that any complaint against a member of the district attorney’s staff should be handled by state Atty. Gen. Dan Lungren.

At issue are allegations by Deputy Dist. Atty. Sean Stafford that, in August, Romney had an office secretary gather case files to research a list of 13 cases prosecuted before Superior Court Judge Anthony Rackauckas Jr. They were three-strikes cases in which the defendant did not get the maximum sentence.

Romney, who supervises Municipal Court cases, said he pulled the files to check the accuracy of a “three-strikes” case report that the office generates monthly. He admitted that Rackauckas’ sentencing record on such cases likely would be a campaign issue, but denied he asked for them for opposition research.

Rackauckas said Tuesday that Capizzi has the authority to pursue an internal investigation into Romney’s actions on his own, and could ask Lungren to look into the matter. Supervisor Todd Spitzer also called on Capizzi on Monday to investigate.

California Republican Party Chairman Michael Schroeder, a frequent Capizzi critic, said the allegations against Romney confirm his “serious concern” that Capizzi is using his office for political ends.

This is the third time that Rohrabacher has asked for an investigation into actions by Capizzi or his office. He complained to Lungren about Capizzi’s own candidacy papers from his 1990 election and about prosecutorial misconduct in the Baugh investigation. Lungren’s office found no findings of wrongdoing. A state bar investigation also cleared Capizzi’s office of misconduct allegations by Rohrabacher and Baugh.