The L.A. County Board of Supervisors has approved a $1.5 million settlement for another prosecutor who claimed retaliation in the DA’s Office under previous District Attorney George Gascón.
Jon Hatami, a Valencia resident who oversees the office’s Complex Child Abuse Section as assistant head deputy of the Family Violence Division, was the first to speak out against Gascón’s policies, he said Thursday.
In his lawsuit filed in 2021, Hatami alleged comments Gascón made during the runup to the March primary, in which the two were political opponents, targeted Hatami.
“Gascón said on ‘Crime Story,’ ‘Some people will be unhappy and like either become internal terrorists or they’ll leave. And I know certainly how to deal with both,’” according to the complaint. “This racially infused comment about ‘internal terrorists’ was directed at plaintiff, who is part Iranian and whose father is Muslim.”
The lawsuit also states Gascón attacked Hatami’s reputation after Gascón was elected in November 2020. The complaint cites Gascón’s comments in a Nov. 18, 2020, interview in which he claimed in the high-profile People v. Aguirre case — which was later publicized in the Netflix series “”The Trials of Gabriel Fernandez” — Hatami only sought the death penalty because his ego had been hurt by Aguirre.
Hatami expressed strong opposition to Gascón’s blanket policies from day one, which is when Gascón implemented them, following his Dec. 7, 2020, swearing in, according to the lawsuit. The policies essentially prevented almost any filing of adult charges against juveniles, restricted the filing of any strikes and disallowed prosecutors from participating in parole matters, among others.
“On or about Dec. 15, 2020, plaintiff disclosed to Gascón that he refused to follow his unlawful policies and that he would continue to file strikes against repeat offenders. After plaintiff disclosed that Gascón’s Three Strikes Policy was illegal and refused to follow the directive, Gascón and (Max) Szabo continued their retaliatory conduct against plaintiff,” according to the complaint.
Hatami wrote Thursday that he’s still fighting for his victims, while Gascón is not, and he’s grateful the county “finally did the right thing.”
“It was a long and difficult four years for my family. For me as well — not getting promoted, getting my cases taken away and dealing on a daily basis with fighting to actually do my job was incredibly difficult. However, nothing compared to how difficult it was for our community, child victims, survivors and surviving families,” Hatami said in a text message. “I don’t think I’ll ever forget when Gascón ordered all of us to read a script and dismiss allegations, enhancements, strikes and special circumstances on child murder cases, even though we had evidence beyond a reasonable doubt to prove those charges. And I was the first one to say, ‘No. I’m not doing that.’ I will never regret doing that.”
A message left with a publicly listed number for Gascón was not returned as of this story’s publication.
Hatami may have been first, but there were multiple prosecutors who made similar claims. Richard Doyle had an $800,000 settlement recommended by the county claims board for his lawsuit. Shawn Randolph reportedly received the same amount as Hatami, according to multiple media outlets. Another deputy district attorney, Phillip Glaviano, was awarded $1.25 million for his settlement. Victoria Adams filed paperwork indicating a settlement had been reached in her case, but the terms have not yet been publicly disclosed.
