A judge Tuesday denied a bid by the Los Angeles County Museum of Art to overturn a Civil Service Commission decision that reinstated a refrigeration mechanic arrested along with his brother in 2016 after marijuana plants and a cache of firearms and ammunition were seized at three locations.
The Los Angeles Superior Court petition involved the punishment levied on Manuel Scagliotti, who museum attorneys state was discharged because of convictions for illegal possession of assault weapons, larceny and a marijuana-related charge.
Scagliotti was named as a “real party in interest” in the petition and his lawyer filed an opposition brief..
“The arrest and incident were covered in the news media and were a source of embarrassment for the county,” the petition stated.
However, Judge James C. Chalfant denied the museum’s petition during a hearing Tuesday.
“In seeking to set aside the commission’s penalty determination, LACMA faces a steep burden,” the judge wrote. “The propriety of a penalty imposed by an administrative agency is a matter in the discretion of the agency and its decision may not be disturbed unless there has been a manifest abuse of discretion.”
A court may not substitute its own judgment for that of the commission and must uphold the penalty if there is any reasonable basis to sustain it, according to the judge, who ordered Scagliotti’s lawyer to prepare a proposed judgment for the judge to sign.
According to LACMA’s petition, Scagliotti, 52, asked the commission for a hearing after his discharge and an officer was appointed to review the evidence and the hearing officer recommended upholding the firing.
“The hearing officer further prepared a statement of facts and conclusions of law that found Scagliotti’s claims that he committed the crimes out of ignorance not credible …” the petition filed last July 17 stated.
The officer additionally found that Scagliotti’s termination was appropriate considering that the department would be continuing to employ someone who was found to have “intentionally acted in such a reckless manner,” the petition stated.
After Scagliotti objected to the commission’s adopting of the hearing officer’s report, the panel by a 3-2 vote overturned the discharge in April and determined he should be reinstated to his position with a 30-day suspension, the petition stated.
“This order came despite adopting the hearing officer’s report with findings reflecting Scagliotti’s behavior outside of work unbecoming of a county employee,” according to the museum attorneys, who further argue in their court papers that Scagliotti’s reinstatement was an “abuse of discretion.”
The Los Angeles Police Department said at the time of the arrests that warrants were served in April 2016 in the 800 block of Terrace 49 in Mount Washington, the 6000 block of Tipton Way in Highland Park and the 13000 block of Bradley Avenue in Sylmar.
Various types of firearms and thousands of rounds of ammunition, were seized along with about $4,500 in cash from the Mount Washington address, police said. The seized marijuana allegedly had an approximate street value of $500,000.
Manuel Scagliotti, then 44, was arrested at the Terrace 49 location and his brother, Livio Scagliotti, then 49, at the Tipton Avenue location, police said.