A district attorney ensnared at the center of the highly anticipated release of the infamous Menendez brothers alleges he was labeled a Nazi collaborator by his boss, according to a new lawsuit.
Prosecutor Brock Lunsford announced Monday that he and his colleague Nancy Theberge were suing for over $250,000 in economic damages with a further $5 million in non-economic damages after superiors in the Los Angeles District Attorney’s Office discriminated and demoted the pair.
But, the lawsuit, now seen by The Independent revealed that Lunsford says he was branded incompetent and a “quisling” by his superior – a derogatory term used to describe a traitor and associated with Nazi collaborator Major Vidkun Quisling in the 1930s.
The alleged incident occurred on November 27, 2024, when Deputy D.A. John Lewin used the slur, which the tort states was not only offensive but caused irreparable harm to Lunsford's professional reputation “by imputing malice and incompetence to him.” It added that Lewin outright stated that Lunsford was incompetent in his profession.
D.A. Nathan Hochman then decided to promote Lewin while Lunsford was undermined, and “relegated to a position with no potential advancement,” the suit reads.
Lunsford’s tort also shared that he adamantly defended his colleague Therberge, and supported her claim that she was discriminated against because of her age and gender.
She believes, as per docutments, she was also targeted because of her “perceived political association” with George Gascon, the present district attorney and political nemesis of Hochman.
Lewin, she alleges, fired defamatory statements in her direction the same day he attacked Lunsford, when he allegedly suggested she had no interest in prosecuting criminals, and instead, “sold her soul for a ‘few extra nickels.’”
The lawsuit emphasizes the pair's glittering performances while working in the district attorney’s office citing previous reviews.
The Menendez brothers were convicted in 1989 of murdering their parents, Jose and Kitty Menendez, and have been embroiled in countless appeals for freedom after pledging that the killings were motivated by years of torment: echoed through sexual abuse.
Both were sentenced to life in prison without parole and are now in their fifties, having already served 35 years behind bars. The disgruntled prosecutors believe the pair should be resentenced and ultimately released. They say they are outraged at Hochman’s response to a memorandum they submitted in October 2024, which recommended resentencing.
Justin Shegerian provided the following comment on behalf of Theberge and Lunsford: “Nancy and Brock are committed public servants and accomplished attorneys who followed the law — the law they believed required them to advocate for the resentencing of the Menendez brothers.
“The harassment and retaliation that followed was politically motivated, illegal, and devastating.”
When contacted, The Los Angeles District Attorney’s Office told The Independent they would not be commenting on the matter.
The Independent contacted John Lewin and Nathan Hochman directly for comment.
