District attorney’s office keeping Garofalo investigation under

wraps

-- Theresa Moreau

HUNTINGTON BEACH -- It’s been six weeks since the Orange County

district attorney’s office began its investigation into alleged conflicts

of interest involving Mayor Dave Garofalo.

But when that investigation will conclude, Deputy Dist. Atty. Michael

Lubinski isn’t saying.

“First we have to gather documentation and see where it leads to,�

said Lubinski, a 16-year veteran of the district attorney’s office.

“Let’s prove all the stuff you guys wrote about.�

Lubinski, who’s assigned to the felony projects unit that investigates

political corruption, did say he has a few investigators working on the

complicated case.

“It’s a pending investigation, and the investigators are going to be

controlling it. They do their job. I’m the attorney,� he said.

Meanwhile, Garofalo’s attorney, Steven Churchwell, is waiting for the

district attorney’s office, the Orange County Grand Jury and the state’s

Fair Political Practices Commission to conclude their investigations.

“Everything’s copacetic,� Churchwell said. “I should say I’m very

confident that everyone who’s looking into the various issues are going

to basically conclude the same thing that I have: There’s nothing there.

“I agree there’s an onion there, but once you peel through the layers,

what you get is nothing.�

Churchwell, who was hired by Garofalo last month, worked as general

counsel for the FPPC until 1999.