$75,000 Harassment Settlement OKd
The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors has awarded a former Van Nuys prosecutor $75,000 to settle a sexual harassment claim.
Colette Facio contended in a lawsuit that she was fired in 1991 from her $59,000-a-year job for refusing to have sex with her boss, Deputy Dist. Atty. Andrew W. Diamond.
The district attorney’s office contended that her dismissal was based on poor work performance, including unexplained absences, abusive behavior toward clerks, failure to prepare cases, shouting and arguing with bailiffs and mistreatment of witnesses.
Seven judges testified in support of the county and against Facio at a Civil Service Commission hearing.
But county attorneys recommended that the case be settled because two witnesses, including a Los Angeles police detective, were prepared to testify that they had seen Diamond harassing Facio.
Diamond, who was briefly transferred to the San Fernando courts and who has now been reassigned to Van Nuys, declined to comment on the case Tuesday. Facio no longer lives in Los Angeles County and her attorney could not be reached for comment.
The board voted to settle the suit Tuesday.
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