A longtime aide to Los Angeles City Council member Karen Price said she was fired from her job after Price staffers accused her of being an “informant” in a criminal case brought against the city council member by the Los Angeles Township. That's the claim made in a complaint filed with the city. Atty. Georges Gascon.

Mr. Price's former senior field agent, Angie Reyes English, filed the claim on February 1. Such claims are typically filed before formal litigation.

The four-page claim, reviewed by the Times, alleges that Reyes-English was threatened by Price and his team and was ultimately fired in January.

Price spokeswoman Angelina Valencia-Dumareau denied the former staffer's claims. In fact, Reyes English had been the subject of complaints from Price staff, Valencia Dumaro said.

“We deny these baseless allegations and have been working closely with them. [the city’s Personnel Department] We have been discussing this issue for several months,” Valencia Dumaro said in a statement. “Several district office employees filed separate formal complaints last year.” [with the Personnel Department] Some people cited Angie Reyes English's harassing and threatening behavior as making them feel anxious and depressed. ”

Greg Smith, an attorney representing Reyes English, said his client was “not aware of any complaints and has not been made aware of any complaints, formal or informal, against her.”

Reyes English serves as mayor pro tem and city council member for the city of Hawthorne, according to the city's website. She declined a request for an interview.

She worked for Price for 17 years, according to the complaint. Ms. Price is a Democrat and she previously served in the state Senate and Congress.

Ivor Pine, a spokesperson for Los Angeles City Atty. Heidi Feldstein Soto declined to comment on the allegations.

Gascón indicted Price in June 2023 on 10 counts of embezzlement, perjury and conflict of interest. The charges are related to medical benefits his wife, Del Richardson Price, received from the city and a vote that the City Council member allegedly gave to benefit her wife's business.

Mr. Price strongly denied the charges.

Reyes English alleges that nearly two weeks after the District Attorney's Office filed charges against the City Councilman's “right-hand man” Price, Deputy Chief of Staff Jose Ugarte called Reyes English and accused him and Price. He claims that his other confidants told him they believed him. She was a “whistleblower” and had disclosed information to “government agencies.”

The next day, Reyes-English told her supervisor and human resources representative that she had been “threatened” by people who thought she was an “informant,” she claims.

She claims Price and others took “retaliation” against Reyes English. She was placed on “involuntary medical leave” for approximately three and a half months starting July 1, 2023.

When she returned to work, “additional actions were taken to intimidate, harass and harm her,” she said. She was fired from her job on January 9, she claims.

The district attorney's office did not immediately respond to a request for comment on her allegations.

Price is expected to be submitted to court in early March. Last month, a Los Angeles County Superior Court judge granted a request by Mr. Price's lawyers to dismiss the case against him because prosecutors had failed to prove that Mr. Price's votes were due to his wife's business dealings. Rejected.

Price's attorney, Michael Schaffler, also argued that prosecutors wrongly filed an embezzlement charge because Price's alleged actions related to his wife's health insurance did not meet the definition of a crime under California law. he claimed.

Times staff writer James Querrey contributed to this report.