EXCLUSIVE – Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascon has been accused of plotting to retaliate against prosecutors critical of his soft-on-crime policies by disbanding the storied unit that put away the infamous serial killer known as the “Grim Sleeper,” an explosive letter obtained by the Washington Examiner revealed.
A growing chorus of prosecutors and victims’ rights organizers have launched a wave of negative publicity against Gascon that is fueling a recall campaign backed by almost half the cities in the county. Some of the most vocal critics are in the DA’s Major Crimes Division, which prosecutes famous, complicated, and lengthy cases like O.J. Simpson’s.
Gascon wants to disband this unit as a means of punishing his detractors, according to Richard Shinee, an attorney for Los Angeles lawyers’ union the Association of Deputy District Attorneys.
“I have been advised that you and members of your staff are contemplating disbanding the Major Crimes Division,” Shinee wrote in a letter to Gascon dated Feb. 22.
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“The lineage of the Major Crimes Division and its successful prosecutions has been and should continue to be the pride of any prosecutor charged with the responsibility of public safety in Los Angeles County,” Shinee said.
“Even more perplexing than the contemplation of dissolving the Division is the stated rationale for doing so,” Shinee added. “I am told that you are shuttering the Division for the express purpose of retaliating against individual members of the Unit.”
The letter stated that Gascon should “expect a vigorous legal response” if he continues with his plan because retaliation violates state laws protecting informants and the ability to engage in political activity.
“It would, indeed, be a stunning event if the chief prosecutor for the County of Los Angeles acted in violation of state law to retaliate against employees for exercising their lawful rights, and in the process, undermined public safety by eliminating a Division with such a stellar reputation,” the letter said.
Former District Attorney Steve Cooley, who is leading the recall, said he hopes the union sues if Gascon shutters Major Crimes, where eight attorneys are assigned.
“I just don’t know what else he can do to destroy a great office and endanger public safety — he has already done that,” Cooley told the Washington Examiner. “This, on top of disbanding the highly effective gang division, is an insult to the prior elected DAs who built that great office.”
Several prosecutors have told the Washington Examiner that Gascon has transferred attorneys seen as disloyal to assignments in courts along the outer perimeter of Los Angeles.
Gascon has not responded to a request for comment.
Prosecutors targeted in Major Crimes include the union’s president, Michele Hanisee, as well as John Lewin and John McKinney. The latter two are particularly vocal on social media, disagreeing with policies implemented by Gascon that are viewed as anti-victim.
This week, McKinney posted several critical tweets, including one showing a TV interview in which he called Gascon’s administration inept and incompetent over a policy that allowed convicted transgender child molester Hannah Tubbs to receive a light sentence.
Major Crimes was founded in the 1980s to handle highly complicated, challenging cases, as well as those deemed high-profile and important to the public. More than half are homicides. Besides Simpson, cases have included actor Robert Blake, record producer Phil Spector, real estate magnate Robert Durst, and the Grim Sleeper, Lonnie Franklin.
Attorney Alan Jackson once supervised the unit and prosecuted Spector, along with Michael Goodwin, convicted of killing racing legend Mickey Thompson. He now heads his own law firm.
“These are horrible crimes and complicated cases,” Jackson said of the unit’s caseload. “The average deputy does not have two or three years to devote to a single case as can be done in the Major Crimes Division.”
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Ultimately, the community would suffer without a dedicated unit for those cases because they would go unsolved, or charges would not reflect all the victims, Jackson said.
