After Anti-Semitism & Sexual Harassment Allegations, Warwick Councilman Wants Water Chief Dismissed
GoLocalProv News Team
After Anti-Semitism & Sexual Harassment Allegations, Warwick Councilman Wants Water Chief Dismissed
As GoLocal first reported, a 50-page federal complaint was filed this week by a former city employee alleging that Warwick Water Division Chief Terry DiPetrillo fostered a "boys club" environment in the department and was among those who sexually harassed and retaliated against her -- to the point she sought mental health treatment and quit her job.
DiPetrillo had previously been arrested in August of 2023, following a reported anti-Semitic incident in which he told a Nazi "joke" at work that involved physically assaulting an employee -- who is Jewish -- by slapping him across the face.
GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLASTMayor Frank Picozzi has refused to comment on the alleged sexual harassment lawsuit against the city.
On Wednesday, Councilman Vinny Gebhart called for DiPetrillo's ouster.
“I am calling for the immediate dismissal of the Chief of the Warwick Water Division following deeply troubling allegations of misconduct revealed through local reporting and court filings. The Water Division's leadership has been accused of multiple instances of sexual harassment, making anti-Semitic jokes and statements, and was charged with assault after slapping an employee during one such anti-Semitic incident. This behavior is unacceptable and incompatible with the values of our community," said Gebhart.
"The residents of Warwick deserve transparency, accountability, and integrity from their public officials. Our city employees, especially those in crucial services like the Water Division, must feel secure, respected, and free from discrimination in their workplace. These allegations, if true, signify a profound failure in leadership and a serious breach of public trust," said Gebhart.
As GoLocal reported, former Water Division employee Bree Boulais says she was subject to harassment by DiPetrillo, after she reported what she said was sexual harassment by another city employee.
"Boulais says that on March 14, 2022, the Monday after she reported the sexual harassment...that she received an email from her Director DiPetrillo in which he stated, “You look stunning,” according to the suit.
Boulais says was “left in bewilderment and was very uncomfortable.”
“The following day, [Boulais] and other co-workers were gathered in the office of the Operations Aid, Peter Broomfield, discussing work-related matters,” according to the lawsuit. "Terry DiPetrillo entered the room and, in front of their coworkers, commented, “Bree, I believe I left my socks by your bedside.”
“Not only did the comment make [Boulais] feel disgusted and uncomfortable, but this comment was humiliating and made it seem, in front of her coworkers, as though she was having an affair with the director, a fact which was very untrue,” the lawsuit goes on to state.
GoLocal spoke with Gebhart regarding his call for DiPetrillo's dismissal.
"This drove me to say something publicly," said Gebhart, following GoLocal's report of the federal lawsuit. "For whatever reason, and I’m not an attorney, I’m not sure what they’re prohibited from saying. but to date I have found [the administration’s] response to be insufficient. I don’t know what they’re doing behind the scenes/ I don’t know if the discipline of the ten days suspension, if that’s ever been said publicly."
"The message this sends to not just the residents, but employees and directors of other departments, the sort of, ‘Hey, you can run it the way that you want, we’ll have management’s back," said Gebhart. "My wife and I have been supportive of [Mayor Frank Picozzi] the whole way and we still are — but my wife being Jewish, my kids being Jewish, it’s a sensitive issue. I tried to deal with it quietly when the first issue came up, as respectfully as I could, as I don’t have all the facts, I wasn’t there, but certainly it doesn’t sound good."
"Even in that first complaint, there were allegations that it wasn’t an isolated incident. Now, we have other allegations of a different nature, but equally poor judgment," he added. "So now we have multiple patterns all around the same employee. It seems to me — as someone who hires and fires people all the time — that this is a bad apple and he needs to go."