San Bernardino County DA accused of sexual harassment

San Bernardino County district attorney Michael Ramos faces accusations of sexual harassment. KPCC’s Steven Cuevas says the allegations arrive just as Ramos’ office launches a series of corruption investigations against several current and former public officials.

Steven Cuevas: A woman who works in the district attorney’s office filed the sexual harassment complaint with county human resources. Authorities aren’t disclosing her name.

The woman told the San Bernardino Sun she had a 17-month affair with Ramos that ended four years ago. The woman said that when the alleged affair came to light about a month ago Ramos retaliated. She claimed he reprimanded her for minor work infractions and gave her a poor performance review.

The charge follows on the heels of county supervisor Neil Derry’s call for an investigation into a string of alleged affairs between Ramos and county employees. At the same time, Ramos is investigating Derry’s former chief of staff on fraud and corruption charges. Columnist Cassie MacDuff covers San Bernardino County politics for the Riverside Press Enterprise.

Cassie MacDuff: The worst thing that could happen from the DA’s perspective is that his office could have to recuse himself from these prosecutions and they would be turned over most probably to the attorney general’s office.

Cuevas: DA Ramos denies the allegations. He describes them as an attempt to derail his office’s investigation of several current and former public officials – including one-time tax assessor Bill Postmus and a councilman from Rancho Cucamonga. Journalist Cassie MacDuff says San Bernardino County has practically become synonymous with corruption.

MacDuff: Ten years ago the FBI investigated a bribery kickback scandal that put six people in federal prison. People have actually called it a culture of corruption. But the previous scandal involved outside contractors who were paying bribes, and the present scandal involves more internal what was going on in the assessor’s office.

Cuevas: Investigators say that what was going on included misuse of public funds, timecard fraud, and improper political campaigning. Former county tax assessor Bill Postmus stepped down earlier this year after he admitted a long struggle with drug addiction.

In a statement, district attorney Michael Ramos said the allegations of sexual misconduct against him are proof that his office’s corruption probe is targeting the right people.