Chris Constantin
History:
2001-2010; Senior Program Performance Auditor; San José, CA
Job Highlight: Resigned from position as an independent police auditor in charge of investigating citizen complaints after the media discovered that he had failed to disclose that his brother was on the police force.
Mercury News: San Jose civilian police watchdog announces he is resigning
04/20/2009
Amid mounting criticism inside and outside City Hall, San Jose's civilian police watchdog resigned Monday evening, less than a week after his appointment — and three days after the Mercury News revealed his brother is a San Jose police officer.
The criticism not only focused on the possibility that Constantin had a conflict of interest because of his brother's role. In addition, city leaders failed to tell a citizens panel that reviewed the appointment of the issue and never asked the city attorney whether a conflict existed. Mayor Chuck Reed also failed to acknowledge Constantin's brother was a San Jose cop when he announced the appointment. (link to source)
Luna, Constantin Generated Controversy in San Jose
February 4, 2010
The San Jose Mercury News on Jan. 31 reviewed the local controversies that led to Eduardo Luna and Chris Constantin winding up with juicy jobs with the City of San Diego. Luna was named San Diego internal auditor in 2007. His boss in San Jose had been caught up in a sexual harassment and gender discrimination controversy, and after a study, was fired for fostering a hostile workplace. During the investigation, Luna was put on leave, but he was not named in a sexual harassment lawsuit. Luna quickly left for San Diego.
There followed another flareup. Chris Constantin, who had been a top deputy to Luna, was named San Jose's independent police auditor to look into citizen complaints against police officers. But the Mercury News revealed that Constantin's brother was a police detective. "Community activists assailed the council pick as a fatal conflict of interest. Constantin declined the appointment," said the Mercury News Jan. 31. Early this year, Constantin left to become a deputy city auditor working for Luna in San Diego. (link to source)
2010-2013; Assistant City Auditor; San Diego, CA
Job Highlights: Cost the City of San Diego at least $120,000 in legal fees spent investigating allegations that his office was creating a hostile work environment, covering up an external investigation, retaliating against employees, trying to discover whistle-blowers, and harassing a gay employee for sexual orientation; Cost the City of San Diego unknown amounts in an ongoing civil lawsuit that alleges "retaliation by city officials and intentional infliction of emotional stress by a co-worker."
Auditor Probes Wrapped - and Under Wraps
February 25, 2013
Over the past eight months, the city of San Diego has hired two outside law firms, held numerous closed-door meetings and spent more than $120,000 to investigate complaints of harassment and retaliation against City Auditor Eduardo Luna and his top deputy, Chris Constantin.
Sworn statements from employees interviewed during the investigation and reviewed by Voice of San Diego say Luna and Constantin created a hostile work environment, intimidated people participating in the inquiries and repeatedly tried to unmask the department’s whistleblowers. (link to source)
City releases details on auditor probe
Apr 8, 2013
The first investigation by the Liebert Cassidy Whitmore law firm into those issues exonerated Luna and Constantin but documented a poor work environment in the office that resulted in low morale among staffers
A second probe by the Solomon Ward law firm looked into whether Luna and Constantin retaliated against employees who filed the original complaints. The firm concluded that their attempts to discover the source was a violation of the city’s whistle-blower protection regulations; they tried to delegitimize the initial investigation by saying it was illegal; and they failed to maintain confidentiality during the proceedings.
“Rather than recognize these complaints as sincere, and agree to an outside, objective investigation of all issues with the OCA (Office of the City Auditor), Mr. Luna and Mr. Constantin speculated about the sources and improper motivation of the complaints, became incorrectly convinced that they came from outside of the OCA, challenged the authority of the outside investigator, and — believing those efforts to have succeeded — sought to discover who raised the complaints and why,” the report concluded. “Ironically, this is the very type of conduct that OCA investigators identify as ‘red flags’: a lack of structure and organized control in the department, ‘going around and around’ in an effort to hinder or delay an investigation and general ‘push back.’
Constantin recently resigned from the city to take the finance director job in Chico, according to the Chico Enterprise-Record. His first day is Wednesday. (link to source)
Lawsuit accuses S.D. officials of harassment, retaliation
Dec. 14, 2012
A former employee of the City Auditor’s Office is accusing city officials of harassment over his sexual orientation, retaliating against him for filing complaints and wrongful termination in a lawsuit that stems from internal complaints that were first reported by U-T San Diego in October.
Edward Moreno, who worked in the office for nearly three years before his Aug. 31 resignation, filed the lawsuit earlier this month seeking unspecified damages from the city. It reveals that Moreno was the source of a complaint that City Auditor Eduardo Luna and his second-in-command, Chris Constantin, tried to cover up a workplace injury by asking their employees to lie to state inspectors about the incident.
The lawsuit also adds a new allegation against the city. Moreno, who is gay, said he filed a complaint with the city’s human resources director in May alleging he was being harassed by a female co-worker about his sexual orientation.
In the lawsuit, Moreno accused Luna and Constantin of scrutinizing his activities closely after he filed the complaints. He said he was accused of time card fraud and they started questioning his performance. At one point, Moreno said Constantin called him a “rotten apple” because he was letting the alleged sexual harassment affect his performance and told him to ”toughen up.”
Moreno said he resigned because he couldn’t take it any more. “These working conditions were so intolerable that a reasonable person in plaintiff’s position would have had no reasonable alternative except to resign,” the lawsuit said.
Internal emails obtained by the U-T show that employees accused Luna and Constantin of questioning several staff members about who complained and dissuaded others from cooperating with offers of raises or threats of retaliation.(link to source)
Judge dismisses part of ex-city worker's lawsuit
April 25, 2013
Superior Court Judge Randa Trapp ruled Thursday that Moreno couldn’t allege wrongful termination, citing a similar case in which a public worker resigned and unsuccessfully sued for wrongful termination. She did allow his allegations of retaliation by city officials and intentional infliction of emotional stress by a co-worker to move forward.
Edward Moreno, who worked in the office for nearly three years before his Aug. 31 resignation, filed the lawsuit in December seeking unspecified damages from the city. It revealed that Moreno was the source of a complaint that City Auditor Eduardo Luna and his second-in-command, Chris Constantin, tried to cover up a workplace injury by asking their employees to lie to state inspectors about the incident.
Luna and Constantin were then accused of trying to ferret out who filed the complaint for retaliation.
Two separate city investigations into the conduct of Luna and Constantin concluded without disciplinary action although Luna has been ordered to implement unspecified changes in his office. Constantin has since left the city. (link to source)
Inconsistencies
Luna and Constantin want the reports released, too, said their attorney, Michael Aguirre. Both have consistently denied the allegations, and Aguirre said Faulconer and others have indicated that his clients have been cleared, at least of the most serious charges. But Aguirre said neither he nor his clients has seen either investigation. (link to source)
VS
Luna and Constantin have denied the original accusations since they were first reported by U-T San Diego in October. Their attorney, former City Attorney Michael Aguirre, said that because the first investigation exonerated his clients the findings of the second are irrelevant. He also objected to the release of the investigative files. (link to source)
Aguirre said the process forced Constantin to leave the city, and brought on health problems for Luna (link to source)
VS
Nakamura said he pursued Constantin for the job and didn’t think the San Diego investigation prompted Constantin to take it. When Hennessy told City Manager Nakamura that she was leaving for Temecula, he called Constantin and offered him the job. (link to source)
This website will continually be updated, if you have information that you can provide either anonymously or on the record, please contact us.
History:
2001-2010; Senior Program Performance Auditor; San José, CA
Job Highlight: Resigned from position as an independent police auditor in charge of investigating citizen complaints after the media discovered that he had failed to disclose that his brother was on the police force.
Mercury News: San Jose civilian police watchdog announces he is resigning
04/20/2009
Amid mounting criticism inside and outside City Hall, San Jose's civilian police watchdog resigned Monday evening, less than a week after his appointment — and three days after the Mercury News revealed his brother is a San Jose police officer.
The criticism not only focused on the possibility that Constantin had a conflict of interest because of his brother's role. In addition, city leaders failed to tell a citizens panel that reviewed the appointment of the issue and never asked the city attorney whether a conflict existed. Mayor Chuck Reed also failed to acknowledge Constantin's brother was a San Jose cop when he announced the appointment. (link to source)
Luna, Constantin Generated Controversy in San Jose
February 4, 2010
The San Jose Mercury News on Jan. 31 reviewed the local controversies that led to Eduardo Luna and Chris Constantin winding up with juicy jobs with the City of San Diego. Luna was named San Diego internal auditor in 2007. His boss in San Jose had been caught up in a sexual harassment and gender discrimination controversy, and after a study, was fired for fostering a hostile workplace. During the investigation, Luna was put on leave, but he was not named in a sexual harassment lawsuit. Luna quickly left for San Diego.
There followed another flareup. Chris Constantin, who had been a top deputy to Luna, was named San Jose's independent police auditor to look into citizen complaints against police officers. But the Mercury News revealed that Constantin's brother was a police detective. "Community activists assailed the council pick as a fatal conflict of interest. Constantin declined the appointment," said the Mercury News Jan. 31. Early this year, Constantin left to become a deputy city auditor working for Luna in San Diego. (link to source)
2010-2013; Assistant City Auditor; San Diego, CA
Job Highlights: Cost the City of San Diego at least $120,000 in legal fees spent investigating allegations that his office was creating a hostile work environment, covering up an external investigation, retaliating against employees, trying to discover whistle-blowers, and harassing a gay employee for sexual orientation; Cost the City of San Diego unknown amounts in an ongoing civil lawsuit that alleges "retaliation by city officials and intentional infliction of emotional stress by a co-worker."
Auditor Probes Wrapped - and Under Wraps
February 25, 2013
Over the past eight months, the city of San Diego has hired two outside law firms, held numerous closed-door meetings and spent more than $120,000 to investigate complaints of harassment and retaliation against City Auditor Eduardo Luna and his top deputy, Chris Constantin.
Sworn statements from employees interviewed during the investigation and reviewed by Voice of San Diego say Luna and Constantin created a hostile work environment, intimidated people participating in the inquiries and repeatedly tried to unmask the department’s whistleblowers. (link to source)
City releases details on auditor probe
Apr 8, 2013
The first investigation by the Liebert Cassidy Whitmore law firm into those issues exonerated Luna and Constantin but documented a poor work environment in the office that resulted in low morale among staffers
A second probe by the Solomon Ward law firm looked into whether Luna and Constantin retaliated against employees who filed the original complaints. The firm concluded that their attempts to discover the source was a violation of the city’s whistle-blower protection regulations; they tried to delegitimize the initial investigation by saying it was illegal; and they failed to maintain confidentiality during the proceedings.
“Rather than recognize these complaints as sincere, and agree to an outside, objective investigation of all issues with the OCA (Office of the City Auditor), Mr. Luna and Mr. Constantin speculated about the sources and improper motivation of the complaints, became incorrectly convinced that they came from outside of the OCA, challenged the authority of the outside investigator, and — believing those efforts to have succeeded — sought to discover who raised the complaints and why,” the report concluded. “Ironically, this is the very type of conduct that OCA investigators identify as ‘red flags’: a lack of structure and organized control in the department, ‘going around and around’ in an effort to hinder or delay an investigation and general ‘push back.’
Constantin recently resigned from the city to take the finance director job in Chico, according to the Chico Enterprise-Record. His first day is Wednesday. (link to source)
Lawsuit accuses S.D. officials of harassment, retaliation
Dec. 14, 2012
A former employee of the City Auditor’s Office is accusing city officials of harassment over his sexual orientation, retaliating against him for filing complaints and wrongful termination in a lawsuit that stems from internal complaints that were first reported by U-T San Diego in October.
Edward Moreno, who worked in the office for nearly three years before his Aug. 31 resignation, filed the lawsuit earlier this month seeking unspecified damages from the city. It reveals that Moreno was the source of a complaint that City Auditor Eduardo Luna and his second-in-command, Chris Constantin, tried to cover up a workplace injury by asking their employees to lie to state inspectors about the incident.
The lawsuit also adds a new allegation against the city. Moreno, who is gay, said he filed a complaint with the city’s human resources director in May alleging he was being harassed by a female co-worker about his sexual orientation.
In the lawsuit, Moreno accused Luna and Constantin of scrutinizing his activities closely after he filed the complaints. He said he was accused of time card fraud and they started questioning his performance. At one point, Moreno said Constantin called him a “rotten apple” because he was letting the alleged sexual harassment affect his performance and told him to ”toughen up.”
Moreno said he resigned because he couldn’t take it any more. “These working conditions were so intolerable that a reasonable person in plaintiff’s position would have had no reasonable alternative except to resign,” the lawsuit said.
Internal emails obtained by the U-T show that employees accused Luna and Constantin of questioning several staff members about who complained and dissuaded others from cooperating with offers of raises or threats of retaliation.(link to source)
Judge dismisses part of ex-city worker's lawsuit
April 25, 2013
Superior Court Judge Randa Trapp ruled Thursday that Moreno couldn’t allege wrongful termination, citing a similar case in which a public worker resigned and unsuccessfully sued for wrongful termination. She did allow his allegations of retaliation by city officials and intentional infliction of emotional stress by a co-worker to move forward.
Edward Moreno, who worked in the office for nearly three years before his Aug. 31 resignation, filed the lawsuit in December seeking unspecified damages from the city. It revealed that Moreno was the source of a complaint that City Auditor Eduardo Luna and his second-in-command, Chris Constantin, tried to cover up a workplace injury by asking their employees to lie to state inspectors about the incident.
Luna and Constantin were then accused of trying to ferret out who filed the complaint for retaliation.
Two separate city investigations into the conduct of Luna and Constantin concluded without disciplinary action although Luna has been ordered to implement unspecified changes in his office. Constantin has since left the city. (link to source)
Inconsistencies
Luna and Constantin want the reports released, too, said their attorney, Michael Aguirre. Both have consistently denied the allegations, and Aguirre said Faulconer and others have indicated that his clients have been cleared, at least of the most serious charges. But Aguirre said neither he nor his clients has seen either investigation. (link to source)
VS
Luna and Constantin have denied the original accusations since they were first reported by U-T San Diego in October. Their attorney, former City Attorney Michael Aguirre, said that because the first investigation exonerated his clients the findings of the second are irrelevant. He also objected to the release of the investigative files. (link to source)
Aguirre said the process forced Constantin to leave the city, and brought on health problems for Luna (link to source)
VS
Nakamura said he pursued Constantin for the job and didn’t think the San Diego investigation prompted Constantin to take it. When Hennessy told City Manager Nakamura that she was leaving for Temecula, he called Constantin and offered him the job. (link to source)
This website will continually be updated, if you have information that you can provide either anonymously or on the record, please contact us.