Federal and local law enforcement officials have begun investigating John Falcicchio, formerly a top aide to Mayor Muriel Bowser before he resigned amid allegations of sexual harassment, a source familiar with the probe tells Loose Lips.

Investigators have so far examined the potential for criminal charges against Falcicchio stemming from sexual advances he allegedly made toward women inside and outside the D.C. government, the source says. This work has included an examination of Falcicchio’s conduct in his dual roles as Bowser’s chief of staff and deputy mayor for planning and economic development, and has involved officials at the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Department of Justice who investigate public corruption cases, the source says. LL has reviewed emails from investigators that support these claims.

The source says D.C.’s Office of the Attorney General has become part of the investigation via its public safety division, which handles the prosecution of adult misdemeanor cases. The D.C. code classifies some sex offenses as misdemeanors, suggesting that the OAG is investigating possible charges against Falcicchio. Emails also corroborate the OAG’s interest in the matter.

Investigators have interviewed at least some of the women who accused Falcicchio of sexual harassment over the past year, the source says, and have been in contact with Debra Katz and Kayla Morin, the high-powered attorneys representing Falcicchio’s two accusers within the city government. (A woman seeking to do business with the city told LL in June that Falcicchio asked for sex and retaliated against her when she refused; another former District official told the DC Line in August that Falcicchio made advances toward her in 2015 and created a “hostile work environment” after she turned him down.) A representative for Katz and Morin declined to comment on the matter. The Mayor’s Office of Legal Counsel has produced two reports substantiating some, but not all, of the claims made by their clients. 

Investigators at these various government agencies have asked witnesses both about the specific details of Falcicchio’s alleged sexual misconduct (women have accused him of exposing himself and sending them explicit messages) as well as his role running DMPED, the source says. The questions have also involved the conduct of some of his deputies at the agency, which manages the city’s complex (and politically sensitive) real estate deals, according to the source.

This revelation is the first indication that law enforcement agencies have begun investigating Falcicchio for criminal charges, despite repeated assertions from Bowser, her attorneys, and some D.C. councilmembers that Falcicchio’s conduct toward these women was fireable, but not criminal. Bowser has resisted referring the matter to either the Metropolitan Police Department or the United States Attorney’s Office for D.C., which handles most felony cases in the city, and neither agency appears to be involved in this investigation. Instead, Bowser has relied on the MOLC, which reports directly to her. 

Vanessa Natale, the deputy director of the MOLC who managed the Falcicchio investigations, tells LL she has not been contacted by the OAG or federal investigators about the matter. An attorney and spokesperson for Falcicchio didn’t respond to a request for comment.

This is also the first suggestion that the FBI and DOJ have begun asking questions about Falcicchio’s actions as one of the most powerful people in D.C.’s government, with a focus beyond the narrow questions of whether or not Falcicchio acted inappropriately toward women. A DOJ spokesperson did not respond to a request for comment.

An OAG spokesperson declined to confirm or deny the existence of any investigation into Falcicchio. Attorney General Brian Schwalb could be tasked with defending the city in court should Falcicchio’s accusers pursue legal action against the government, leading most observers to speculate that he’d be unable to simultaneously pursue a criminal case against Falcicchio. (Natale told reporters on July 31 that she’s had “informal conversations with the parties” about some sort of legal settlement.)

But Schwalb has never entirely ruled out the idea of legal action in his public comments: “If there’s a proper role to protect the interests of the District of Columbia and people who live here in the District of Columbia, that’s not something that our office is going to shy away from,” he told WTOP in March.

The Council also recently directed the Office of the Inspector General to hire a law firm and begin its own, independent investigation of Falcicchio, which should be getting off the ground in the next few weeks. The OIG released a request for proposals to find such a law firm earlier this month.

At-large councilmembers Anita Bonds and Kenyan McDuffie also pledged to hold hearings this summer examining the culture within the two offices Falcicchio oversaw, as the chairs of the committees with oversight of each one. Neither has announced plans to do so ahead of the Council’s return from recess on Sept. 15.