Deputy’s Husband Sues, Says Gates Got Him Fired

The husband of a woman who sued the Orange County Sheriff’s Department, alleging sexual harassment, filed a lawsuit this week contending that Sheriff Brad Gates played a role in getting him fired from his job with a computer company.

Carl Costello, a former investigator with the Sheriff’s Department, blames Gates for his dismissal from Southland Micro Systems in Irvine. Costello began working at Southland after being injured and receiving a disability retirement from the Sheriff’s Department, according to the lawsuit.

Lt. Hector Rivera, a spokesman for the Sheriff’s Department, said Wednesday that Gates could not comment on the lawsuit because he had not had an opportunity to consult with county attorneys on it.

The plaintiff’s wife, Lt. Wendy Costello, and two other female Sheriff’s Department employees filed a lawsuit in 1997 against former Assistant Sheriff Dennis LaDucer, accusing him of making inappropriate comments and groping them.

Gates fired LaDucer, one of the sheriff’s closest aides, after an investigation. LaDucer, who has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing, filed a countersuit alleging slander against Wendy Costello and the two other women.

Carl Costello filed the lawsuit in Orange County Superior Court after his claim for damages, filed in February with the county’s risk management office, was rejected. In that claim, Costello was seeking $8 million for loss of earnings and “emotional and physical distress.”