District Attorney Bonnie Dumanis hosted a recent media luncheon to discuss her office’s Public Integrity Unit, a division formed to investigate allegations of criminal misconduct among elected officials, candidates, campaign officials and public employees.
The Public Integrity Unit uses the Criminal Grand Jury to investigate allegations. This allows it to conduct investigations with confidentiality. This not only encourages cooperation on the part of those being investigated, Dumanis said, but it also minimizes the chance of tarnished reputations in the event allegations are unsubstantiated.
All grand jury investigations are confidential until an indictment is handed down, at which time they become public record.
Joining Dumanis were Deputy District Attorneys Patrick O’Toole and Leon Schorr, prosecutors leading the Public Integrity Unit.
The Public Integrity Unit came into the limelight most recently after Chula Vista Councilman Steve Castaneda was indicted on charges of perjury and failing to report income on required disclosure forms, all as a result of its investigations.
Castaneda criticized it for being used as a political tool.
Dumanis said as a practice they do not launch investigations at the beginning of campaigns, adding that her office has made an effort to position itself as nonpartisan, for instance, by ceasing to endorse political candidates. She did acknowledge, however, that around election time, the office sees a spike in complaints.
Dumanis said that most violations are not a result of criminal intent but can be traced to a maze of confusing campaign regulations, with very little standardization existing for elections across regions and levels of government. Therefore, the public integrity unit also serves in an educational capacity.
“We don’t play gotcha,” O’Toole said.
O’Toole also emphasized that even though some behaviors may seem wrong, they are not necessarily illegal, and sometimes investigations uncover information that he feels should be out in public but remains confidential because of the grand jury process.
Schorr said that in these instances, they can redirect complaining parties to more appropriate authorities.
For more information, visit www.sdcda.org.