<p>RICHMOND, Va. — A state investigator working on a probe that found violations of policy and law by the Virginia Parole Board was fired Monday, according to her attorney, who said his client is now exploring “legal remedies."</p>
<p>The Office of the State Inspector General, the state’s government watchdog agency, terminated Jennifer Moschetti from her position as a senior investigator, her attorney, Tim Anderson, wrote in an email. </p>
<p>The development is the latest in a controversy that began with <a href="https://apnews.com/article/866a2f902a9ba5927cfe44f6bd25d4f5">consternation </a> over a handful of parole decisions last spring and has continually escalated into a complicated, bitter dispute involving a whistleblower lawsuit <a href="https://apnews.com/article/lawsuits-virginia-ad8058143b69b2ba76109000da2b014a">recently filed</a> by Moschetti.</p>
<p>“As of today, the only government employee receiving any consequences in the parole board investigation is now the investigator herself. This is a very dark day in Virginia and no stone will be left unturned as Ms. Moschetti avails herself of every remedy available at law,” Anderson said. </p>
<p>According to the lawsuit Moschetti filed earlier this month against her boss, Inspector General Michael Westfall, she had a central role in the investigation of the parole board, which so far had turned up numerous <a href="https://apnews.com/article/richmond-shootings-virginia-u-s-news-288401a58b7d88c409cabf174c1c491e">problems </a> in how the board handled prosecutor and victim notification. </p>
<p>Moschetti recently approached state legislators to report alleged misconduct in the handling of the investigation, according to her lawsuit, which had not yet been heard in court. </p>
<p>Anderson wrote that he would withdraw that lawsuit and Moschetti would begin “exploring the legal remedies she now has for wrongful employment termination and intentional injuries to her reputation.”</p>
<p>Anderson, who is a Republican legal activist now running for a seat in the House of Delegates, said neither he nor Moschetti had any further comment. </p>
<p>A spokeswoman for Westfall’s office didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment. </p>
<p>Moschetti had already been placed on “pre-disciplinary leave,” according to her lawsuit, which alleged Westfall suspended her “in an effort to insulate his own position as State Inspector General.”</p>
<p>Democratic Gov. Ralph Northam’s chief of staff, Clark Mercer, recently criticized the watchdog agency’s work on the matter, calling a report that Moschetti handled into the release of a man convicted of killing a Richmond police officer “biased.” </p>
<p>In response, Anderson provided reporters with copies of what he said was Moschetti’s most recent performance evaluation. </p>
<p>The evaluation praised her work, calling her “detail-oriented” and “clearly a person of integrity.” It said she “maintains the highest level of confidentiality and is consistently fair and balanced.”</p>
<p>Anderson also provided a document showing Moschetti was awarded a $2,000 bonus for her work on the parole board matters.</p>
<p>Kate Hourin, spokeswoman for the Office of the State Inspector General, declined comment on those documents. </p>
