D.A. Is Rebuffed on Case

In a blow to Dist. Atty. Tony Rackauckas, the state attorney general’s office announced Monday that prosecutors will not charge two of his investigators accused of stealing evidence in an extortion case involving a friend of Rackauckas’.

The decision is the first in several cases being reviewed by state prosecutors after a political scandal in which several employees accused Rackauckas of political favoritism.

Rackauckas asked the attorney general in February to consider prosecuting the two investigators, accusing them of stealing reports and a taped interview they conducted with one of his political supporters.

But the state prosecutors on Monday rejected the request, declaring that a four-month probe of the allegations found that theft charges against the pair “would not be appropriate.”

The investigators--Lyle Wilson and Barry Foye--have received a total of more than $55,000 in county salary on paid administrative leave during the investigation.

Supporters of the pair said Monday’s announcement shows that the allegations against them are unfounded.

“Lyle Wilson committed no crime,” said Wilson’s attorney, John Barnett. “Lyle did what was right . . . and there’s a high level of frustration when you do that and you become a target.”

District attorney spokeswoman Tori Richards would not comment until the Riverside district attorney’s office finishes a separate personnel probe of the allegations.

Until then, Richards said, the county has no option but to keep the two investigators on paid leave. She said she does not know when the investigation will be finished.

At the center of the allegations is Newport Beach businessman Patrick DiCarlo, a friend and major campaign contributor to Rackauckas.

Last year, DiCarlo told the district attorney he was being extorted as part of a business deal gone sour. Rackauckas assigned Foye and Wilson to the case but pulled them off weeks later, saying they were treating DiCarlo more like a crime suspect than a victim.

Rackauckas’ decision to pull the investigators from the case sparked complaints within his office that Rackauckas had acted to help his friend, an allegation that he vigorously denies. Instead, Rackauckas accused the investigators of being overzealous.

Three of Rackauckas’ prosecutors asked the attorney general to investigate their boss for what they said was obstruction of justice in the DiCarlo case. State officials will not confirm whether they are looking into those allegations.

The DiCarlo case is one of several that have sparked criticism of Rackauckas in recent months.

Critics have accused the district attorney of improperly asking staff members to work on a nonprofit charity in his name. Others have faulted Rackauckas for intervening in a case involving another key campaign contributor, multimillionaire developer George Argyros. Earlier this year, Rackauckas ordered prosecutors to withdraw a lawsuit against Argyros’ apartment company, which was accused of keeping tenants’ security deposits unfairly.