The Los Angeles Police Department’s investigation into last year’s incidental audio leak is focusing on two former employees of the Los Angeles County Federation of Labor who are now suspected of possible wiretapping, LAPD Chief Michel Moore said.

No charges have been filed yet and the LAPD is “actively following requests for additional information from the District Attorney’s Office,” Moore said in a statement Wednesday night.

Prosecutors sent the case back to the Los Angeles Police Department last week for “further investigation.”

Tiffany Blacknell

, communications director for Dist. Atty. George Gascn’s office. It is not uncommon for prosecutors to ask a law enforcement agency to gather additional evidence or interview additional witnesses during the charge review process.

But the district attorney’s office requested further work because of shortcomings in the police department’s initial investigation, according to two law enforcement sources familiar with the investigation.

The LAPD statement did not identify the employees under investigation, but the sources confirmed they are Santos Leon and Karla Vasquez, a married couple who worked for the federation when

What

The conversation was recorded at the end of 2021. Police searched Leon and Vasquez’s home in Eagle Rock in July, and Leon’s computers were seized by police around the same time.

Leon’s attorney Robert Schwartz declined to comment Thursday. Vasquez’s attorney did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Police did not fully examine the suspects’ hard drives and digital hardware computer hard drives, the sources said.

One of the sources described the LAPD investigation as relying heavily on a private investigation previously conducted for the union federation.

The leaked conversation, which included racist and derogatory comments, was recorded during an October 2021 meeting involving then-Los Angeles County Federation of Labor Chairman Ron Herrera, then-City Council President Nury Martinez and two other City Council members Gil Cedillo and Kevin de Len were involved. at Federation Headquarters Westlake. Herrera and Martinez resigned within days of The Times reporting on the October 2022 shooting.

During an internal investigation earlier this year, a federal forensic investigator interviewed staff and examined each staffer’s laptop computer. A person familiar with the investigation and not authorized to speak publicly told The Times in July. During that investigation, the forensic investigator found audio editing software on Leon’s computer and turned his findings over to the LAPD, the source said.

I have no further information than what is in the press release. Investigation details are not available,” LAPD Capt. Kelly Muniz said Thursday

afternoon

when asked about the allegations.

California is a “two-party consent” state, meaning it is a crime for someone to record a conversation without the consent of other participants unless they have a court order to do so. The police investigation is still ongoing and so far no other people allegedly involved have been identified, according to Moore’s statement.

The update in the investigation comes days after both Cedillo and De Len filed lawsuits against Vasquez and Leon, saying the recording did so. permanently damage for their reputation and career. Both lawsuits allege invasion of privacy, negligence and seeking damages.

Cedillo’s lawsuit is also against the trade union federation, while De Len only names the couple as defendants.