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Former Woodside Town Manager Jason Ledbetter won’t face criminal prosecution for allegedly attempting to extort the town, the San Mateo County District Attorney’s Office announced May 6.
Ledbetter asked town officials on Feb. 17 to pay him $400,000 — encompassing one-year’s salary, medical benefits and accrued paid vacation days — and threatened to publicly release his 14-page whistleblower report alleging illegal and unethical behavior by members of the Woodside Town Council if the severance package wasn’t forthcoming. When the council declined, Ledbetter sent his allegations to reporters, town staff, commissioners and prosecutors.
District Attorney Steve Wagstaffe said that Ledbetter fully cooperated with the investigation and was interviewed for several hours. Ledbetter declined to comment when reached by this news organization.
The Town’s attorney Richard Bolanos said in a statement that the town “strongly disagrees” with the District Attorney’s Office decision not to charge Ledbetter.
Ledbetter’s report made a number of allegations, only one of which was substantiated by the town’s investigator. In it, Ledbetter alleged that Mayor Pro-Tempore Paul Goeld and Mayor Brian Dombkowski pressured him to delay housing projects in their districts and made racist and sexist comments. Ledbetter accused Councilmember Jenn Wall of sexual discrimination and bullying resulting from her preference for a female town manager candidate. He also alleged Dombkowski sought to “bury” a proposal to reduce speed limits near Woodside Elementary School, which was subsequently approved by the Town Council.
Ledbetter was placed on paid administrative leave in mid-February while investigations by the town’s third-party attorney and the District Attorney’s Office were underway. Assistant Town Manager Melissa Cardinale has been acting town manager since Ledbetter was put on leave.
The Woodside Town Council fired Ledbetter on April 30 after Stallard Panebianco P.C., a workplace investigation firm retained by the town, found only one of Ledbetter’s 11 accusations had evidence to support it. He was terminated with cause and without severance pay.
In a letter to the town’s attorney, Deputy District Attorney Joseph Cannon wrote that the DA’s Office did not find evidence beyond a reasonable doubt that Ledbetter had specific intent to commit extortion, which is required for it to be considered a crime. Cannon also said Ledbetter may have a convincing argument to a jury that his actions were protected under whistleblower statutes and the First Amendment.
“The sequence of events — demanding a severance package in the context of an employment dispute involving allegations of workplace misconduct — more closely resembles aggressive negotiation than criminal extortion,” Cannon wrote.
In his statement, the town’s investigator Bolanos noted that the District Attorney’s Office is responsible for determining whether there is evidence of a crime beyond a reasonable doubt. “The District Attorney’s findings stand separate and apart from the town council’s determination that Mr. Ledbetter’s conduct presented cause for his dismissal under his employment agreement,” he wrote.
In connection to the whistleblower report, the District Attorney’s Office also investigated whether Mayor Pro Tem Goeld violated the state’s open meeting laws when he disclosed information from a closed session meeting to Ledbetter.
While the town’s investigation concluded that Goeld likely did violate the Ralph M. Brown Act, the District Attorney’s Office found that it is not a criminal violation. The only remedies for disclosing confidential information is a court order preventing information from being released, disciplinary action and being referred to a Civil Grand Jury — which may lead to someone being prohibited from holding some elected offices.
The only criminal offense contained in the Brown Act is for wilfully intending to deprive the public of information to which it is entitled.
The District Attorney’s Office reviewed only potential criminal offenses and not the rest of Ledbetter’s allegations. The Woodside Town Council scheduled a closed session at its May 12 meeting to discuss two cases of “anticipated litigation.”
