An investigator laid off from the Deschutes County District Attorney’s Office says that within days after District Attorney Patrick Flaherty took office in January, Flaherty told her he believed she was spying on him and sharing the information with a county attorney and other officials who wanted to sabotage him.

Sharon Sweet described her conversations with Flaherty in a grievance letter, which she filed on Oct. 27 to dispute her layoff and seek reinstatement. The county released the grievance letter on Wednesday in response to a public records request from The Bulletin.

Flaherty did not return a call for comment on Wednesday afternoon, and Sweet declined to comment.

Flaherty allegedly told Sweet that he believed she was conspiring with former District Attorney Mike Dugan, Mark Pilliod — Deschutes County’s top civil lawyer — and other county employees to undermine him, according to Sweet’s letter.

The 2010 district attorney’s campaign in which Flaherty unseated Dugan was contentious, and Flaherty and Pilliod have a history of legal disagreements. Flaherty convened a grand jury in February to investigate Pilliod’s release of job applications for new prosecutors in response to a public records request. Flaherty said in an interview earlier this year that Pilliod appeared to harbor an “animus” toward him.

Sweet wrote that she talked to Jerry Stone, a part-time investigator whom Flaherty hired earlier this year, about her concern that Flaherty was trying to get rid of her. Stone resigned shortly after Sweet’s termination.

“Jerry was aware that I felt you were trying to find a way to remove me from your office because as you told me your second week in office, you felt that I was conspiring with Mike Dugan and (Pilliod) and to some extent, with County Administration, to sabotage your position in the D.A.’s Office,” Sweet wrote. “You told me at the time that because I also worked (part-time) for (Pilliod) investigating personnel issues, that I had to know what you were doing and therefore I could not be trusted and you said you were sure I was spying on you for them. You told me at that time that because you could not trust me you could not have me working there. I tried to assure you that I was doing no such thing and knew nothing of any conspiracy against you.”

Sweet wrote that she “amassed considerable information from various people” that supports her belief that Flaherty laid her off because he continues to believe she is spying on him for Pilliod.

Flaherty laid off Sweet on Oct. 7 and she filed the grievance on Oct. 27.

Under county personnel rules, Flaherty has until Nov. 11 to respond to Sweet’s grievance. If the issue is not resolved, the grievance could move on to the county administrator and eventually the county commissioners.

In the meantime, county officials decided to employ Sweet full time, working on projects for other departments. The county is still paying most of her salary with funds from the district attorney’s budget, because officials contend Flaherty did not have the authority to unilaterally eliminate Sweet’s job without seeking a budget adjustment. Flaherty wrote in letters to Sweet and Interim County Administrator Erik Kropp that he had to cut the job because of unanticipated technology costs, although he did not provide details.

District attorney’s investigators often do follow-up work necessary to prepare cases investigated by other law enforcement agencies for trial, according to a job description posted on Deschutes County’s website. Investigators also interview and prepare witnesses for trial, locate missing witnesses, serve subpoenas and prepare certain evidence for trial, among other duties. With Sweet and Stone gone, there are no investigators in the Deschutes County District Attorney’s Office.