-Caveat Lector-
Saturday Jul. 14, 2001
Congressman's staff members say they'll sue DJs over incident
By JEFF JARDINE and BRIAN JOSEPH
BEE STAFF WRITERS
Published: Saturday, July 14, 2001
Four people who work in Rep. Gary Condit's Modesto office say they will sue
a pair of shock jocks, alleging that the radio duo humiliated the office
staff Thursday.
Lisa Mantarro Moore, Jackie Mullen, Pat Austin and Maggie Mejia said they
also want the Stanislaus County district attorney's office to file criminal
charges.
For the past two weeks, Condit's office has been under siege by national
media covering the story of Condit's link to Chandra Levy, a 24-year-old
woman from Modesto who was last seen April 30 in Washington, D.C.
Thursday, radio show host John Kobylt and Ken Chiampou, of KFI-AM in Los
Angeles, went to the office near 16th and I streets carrying microphones.
They were on the air when Kobylt asked questions that the office workers
said were abusive, insulting and offensive.
"What he (Kobylt) did was nothing more than stage an event for him to get
ratings by abusing women in an office," Mantarro Moore said. "It was an
assault. We were assaulted."
Mullen said Kobylt asked, "Hey, Jackie, did you sleep with (Condit) to get
a job?"
Mantarro Moore said that when she picked up the phone to summon the
authorities, one of the broadcasters said, "The fat b---- is actually
calling the police!"
Mantarro Moore said that when two constituents entered the office, they
were asked, "You want to be an intern?"
The broadcasters left after the staff ordered them out of the office.
Mejia said the office staff has since taken a flurry of abusive calls from
fans of the show.
"They're not even from our district," she said. "Some have been from out of
state."
Chief Deputy District Attorney John Goold said his office will review the
police report on Thursday's incident. He said the broadcasters could face
charges of disturbing the peace; the misdemeanor is punishable by up to six
months in county jail.
In civil court, the women could seek damages for emotional distress
inflicted by putting them on the air without their permission and
subjecting them to the alleged abuse.
Mantarro Moore said they definitely will pursue some type of action.
The staff members said that aside from Thursday's incident, the multitude
of reporters and television crews camped outside Condit's office have been
polite and respectful of both the office staff and constituents.
Some of them went into the office to see if the women were OK after the
incident ended, the staff members said.
Tough on businesses
Businesses along 16th street are feeling the impact of the media's
presence.
"This is really an annoyance," said Natalie Ray, an account executive with
Beneficial Finance. The loan company is a few doors away from Condit's
office.
"(The crews) are driving me crazy because they're taking my parking space.
The customers have been complaining about parking, too. They're not used to
being inconvenienced like this," Ray said.
Candy Wiegand, owner of a nearby coffee shop, Mocha Magic, said her regular
customers have stopped coming in because of the camera crews.
"A lot of the media are coming in, so they're making up for the loss,"
Wiegand said. "They have interrupted business.
"This has been one of the most tiring two weeks. Your adrenaline is
constantly on. You see these people on their cell phones racing by. You try
to look out the window to see what's going on."
Wiegand said this week has been much better. Last week, satellite trucks
lined 16th Street between I and J.
"There was just no parking," said Robert Merritt, an employee of Fleur de
Lis, a nearby store that sells antiques. "We were just like, this is
ridiculous."
A week ago, police and the owners of the Judge Frank C. Damrell Building
worked out an agreement with the television crews to move their trucks
behind the building's garage.
That opened up parking in front of the businesses that line 16th Street,
but it took away parking for people who work at the businesses.
"Business pretty much got back to normal this week, when the trucks moved,"
Merritt said.
Not every business is upset about the television crews.
Jane Cannon, manager of the Best Western, kitty-corner from Condit's
office, said the crews have helped business.
"Business was already good before all of this," Cannon said. "But now we've
got more. A lot of them are staying here."
The camera crews also serve as entertainment to some who work in the area.
"It's nice to have some kind of diversion during the day," Merritt said.
"If it's a slow day, or you got 10 free minutes, you stick your head out
and see what's going on."
Deputies posted
Elsewhere, the Stanislaus County Sheriff's Department has posted a deputy
24 hours a day at the Levy family residence in north Modesto.
Cmdr. Myron Larson said the family requested the extra security because of
the number of people who have entered the neighborhood since their
daughter's disappearance became a national story.
"There were a couple of trespassing incidents and a number of people
knocking at the door," Larson said.
Larson said that contrary to broadcast reports, the deputy on duty stays
outside the home and will not answer or monitor phone calls in the
residence.
Bee staff writer Jeff Jardine can be reached at:
578-2383
or:
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
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