WHISTLE-BLOWER SETTLES FOR $250,000 AS RETALIATION VICTIM.

Byline: TROY ANDERSON Staff Writer

Gamil Youssef, a journalist who emigrated from Egypt two decades ago, was hired in 1998 as an eligibility worker at the Department of Public Social Services' office in Rancho Park, where he always received outstanding performance evaluations.

But after notifying his supervisor in 2001 that an applicant had tried to get food stamps using a fake Social Security number and expired driver's license, his supervisors' treatment of him changed, Youssef said.

He eventually filed suit claiming he was retaliated against for blowing the whistle on the fraud. Youssef's managers and supervisors called him a ``terrorist,'' his suit said, and told him they were keeping a secret file on him.

When Youssef protested his treatment, he was transferred to a different office, assigned no duties and instructed to sit at his desk, not to move, open any windows or talk to anyone, the suit said. He also was excluded from important meetings.

The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors voted last month to pay Youssef $250,000 to settle the suit.

Before the settlement was approved, however, Youssef had complained to Supervisors Gloria Molina and Zev Yaroslavsky about welfare fraud and ``abuse of power'' at DPSS, according to records.

``These issues concerned corruption, abuse of power, mismanagement, the main reasons for high rates of food stamp error and the pressure applied on the workers to issue benefits,'' Youssef wrote in a letter to Molina. ``In addition, I gave them 11 additional cases to investigate.''

Molina referred the issue to the county auditor for investigation, according to letters Yaroslavsky and Molina wrote Youssef.

Shirley Christensen, special assistant to the director of DPSS, said the auditor found no merit in Youssef's allegations of fraud.

Youssef filed a grievance, and Office of Affirmative Action Compliance Director Dennis A. Tafoya wrote in a letter that an investigation found Youssef had been the victim of retaliation.

``The county regrets that this incident occurred and can assure you that the department has implemented the required corrective action,'' Tafoya wrote.

However, according to Youssef's attorney, none of his client's co- workers or supervisors has been disciplined. County officials refused to comment, saying disciplinary actions are confidential.

troy.anderson(at)dailynews.com

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