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This article has been updated with a statement from Lisa Lopez, Chief Administrative Officer/Assembly Rules Committee.
California Assembly Speaker Robert Rivas has been named by his former communications aide, Cynthia Moreno, in a lawsuit filed on September 4 in Sacramento Superior Court, alleging violation of racketeering, discrimination and First Amendment laws.
Rivas represents the 29th Assembly District, which includes San Benito County. His brother, Rick Rivas, is also named in the suit.
The lawsuit is the result of complaints filed by and against Moreno, which ended with her being fired by the Assembly Rules Committee on Aug. 6, after an investigation of all charges by the Workplace Conduct Unit (WCU) of the California Office of Legislative Counsel.
According to Rivas’ campaign spokesperson Elizabeth Ashford, “The vast conspiracy theories included in this filing are absolutely false. We will fight these false and defamatory claims aggressively.”
According to a copy of the lawsuit, Moreno alleges violations of these legal provisions:
- Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (“RICO”)
- Conspiracy to violate RICO
- Retaliation against a whistleblower
- Legislative Employee Whistleblower Protection Act
- Legislative Discriminatory Harassment Retaliation Prevention Act
- First Amendment Petition Clause
- Conspiracy to violate the First Amendment Petition Clause
- Tom Bane Civil Rights Act
Rivas’ Communications Director Nick Miller declined to comment on the case directly, and instead forwarded a statement from California Assembly Rules Chief Administrative Officer Lisa Lopez:
“This complaint is a total fabrication, and I am confident that Ms. Moreno’s claims regarding ‘unethical or illegal practices’ by Speaker Rivas or his brother and complaints about current Assembly employees will be disproven in a court of law.”
Moreno, who had been hired in July 2023, was fired based on accusations against her of sexual harassment by unnamed employees, which was then investigated by the WCU.
Moreno’s suit alleges that her firing was in retaliation for filing two formal complaints in May 2024 against Rivas’ former communications assistant, Spencer Hagaman, over alleged sexual harassment perpetrated against her. Moreno claims that, even though the WCU found the complaint against Hagaman to be substantiated, Rivas allegedly stripped her of “significant job responsibilities.”
According to a letter sent to Hagaman’s attorney by Nossman LLP, which provides legal services to the Assembly, the WCU actually found that the policies of the legislature had not been violated, concluding the matter. Hagaman continued to work for Rivas until his resignation in April.
In her suit, Moreno states that she submitted another formal complaint in January to Liz Snow, Rivas’ chief of staff, reporting “unethical and illegal practices” by Rivas’ Communications Director Nick Miller as well as Rick Rivas and Rivas himself, alleging misuse of public campaign staffers and funds for events in support of Rivas’ 2024 reelection campaign.
In a statement issued after this article was first published, Lopez said that the Assembly “was not, and is not, aware of any alleged report by Ms. Moreno of the purported ‘unethical and illegal practices’ by Speaker Rivas or anyone else set forth in her lawsuit.”
She also filed a complaint with the WCU in February against Rick Rivas, alleging “influence peddling, bribery, and violations of the California Political Reform Act.”
Moreno claims that, in retaliation for being a whistleblower, she was denied a standard tenure-based pay raise and subsequently had her employment terminated.
The suit also alleges a pattern of “racketeering activity” by Rivas and his brother, including changes made to pending legislation in response to donations, including some made to Rick’s consulting company, Garnett Lakes.
Rivas’ attorney, Matthew Segal, issued a statement regarding this part of the accusations. He wrote, “The public needs to understand that the complaint contains no factual example of bribery. If these matters were sufficient to allege bribery, then every officeholder who receives a campaign contribution would be subject to prosecution. That’s not the law.”
The suit requests an award which would include all damages and losses suffered by Moreno as a result of “the illegal activity by Defendants,” triple damages as prescribed under the RICO Act, back pay and reinstatement.
In her statement, Assembly rules officer Lopez said that, following the conclusion of the WCU investigation which “substantiated allegations of sexual harassment” against Moreno, the Assembly Rules Committee terminated her at-will employment on Aug. 8, due to her “repeated conduct in violation of the Legislature’s Policy,” her “lack of candor during the investigation,” and the “high visibility” of her position as a member of Rivas’ office.
Rivas’ campaign spokesperson Elizabeth Ashford told BenitoLink that his office had not been served with the lawsuit yet. She also said, “It’s already a matter of public record that the speaker recused himself from all matters related to Ms. Moreno’s termination,” and that “Rick Rivas had no role in Ms. Moreno’s employment, ever.”
The office of Moreno’s attorney, Ognian Gavrilov, told BenitoLink he was unavailable for comment and would issue a statement “when he can.”
According to a 2024 Sacramento Bee profile of the “Top 20 Latino Change Makers in the capital region,” Moreno was the first Latina to hold the position of press secretary for the Speaker in 20 years and had previously worked as a journalist for Telemundo, Vida en Valle, The Fresno Bee, and McClatchy Newspapers.
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