Embattled Warwick Official DiPetrillo Takes a Second Month of Medical Leave
GoLocalProv News Team
Embattled Warwick Official DiPetrillo Takes a Second Month of Medical Leave
DiPetrillo has been under more and more scrutiny, and there are calls for him to be removed.
Actions by DiPetrillo are at the center of a federal civil lawsuit, and then there are questions about the assignment of overtime to his own brother, and all of this comes after he pled guilty last year to an assault charge for striking a subordinate of the water division.
GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLASTCity officials confirmed DiPetrillo’s first leave on July 1, which was supposed to end on July 29.
Now, DiPetrillo is taking additional leave and will be out for a second month.
He is paid $107,000 a year plus benefits.
"Mr. DePetrillo is discharging paid sick leave from 06/28 – 07/29/2024. He informed the City on 6/28," said Elizabeth Tufts, media coordinator for Warwick Mayor Frank Picozzi in an email to GoLocal.
The new date for DiPetrillo’s return to work is August 26.
Federal Law Suit
In June, Bree Boulais, who is being represented by attorney Paige Munro-Delotto, filed the 50-page complaint in U.S. District Court naming the City of Warwick, the Warwick Water Division, and Warwick Mayor Frank Picozzi as defendants.
According to the lawsuit, it was apparent that the leadership of the Water Department seemed to foster an environment of sexism and inappropriateness; to [Boulais] it "felt like a ‘boys club’ based on how the men talked about women openly,” according to the lawsuit. “By the spring of 2022, the environment started to become hostile for [Boulais] because of her sex.”
By 2023, Boulais alleges the harassment became so severe that she needed to seek mental health treatment and that she was deprived of her Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) rights before ultimately resigning.
According to Boulais' lawsuit, starting in March 2022, she faced a string of sexual harassment incidents — that she says started after she reported an "offensive" email.
Boulais says that on March 11, 2022, Jason Parmelee, the City Controller of finances for the City of Warwick, came to the Water Division for a meeting, at which time he said hello to her before going into a meeting with other individuals.
“At approximately 2:00 pm that day [Boulais] received an email from Parmelee after he had left the offices,” alleges Boulais in the lawsuit. “The email from Parmelee stated, “Hey there. I was just over there…I don’t think I ever realized how attractive you are. Super cute…well, have a great weekend haha!”
“[Boulais] was offended especially since she had a fiancé, and all of her male coworkers and supervisors knew she had a fiancé,” the lawsuit states. “The comment in the email was both subjectively and objectively offensive.”
Boulais said she responded with an email, saying, “I gave no indication to you when you were here that sending me an e-mail like this, especially through a work e-mail, was acceptable. I find your comments extremely inappropriate, as well as, unprofessional. Moving forward this will not be tolerated.”
According to the lawsuit, Boulais “reported the email from Mr. Parmelee to her director, Mr. Terry DiPetrillo and her manager Mr. [Michael] St. Pierre.”
Boulais says that on March 14, 2022, the Monday after she reported the sexual harassment she had experienced by Parmelee to DiPetrillo and St. Pierre, 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.
The lawsuit continues:
"Terry DiPetrillo then proceeded to make another comment, to Richard Moniz, the Lead Meter Tech, which was even more significantly inappropriate, humiliating, and offensive. Terry DiPetrillo stated to Moniz, “[w]ant to come by Bree’s later and run a train on her?” according to the lawsuit. "[Boulais] felt violated and humiliated by Mr. Terry DiPetrillo’s unwanted sexual comments."
Boulais filed the complaint in federal court on June 14, 2014.
Since then, the City of Warwick filed a notice of appearance for counsel on June 24, for attorneys Marc DeSisto and Jeffrey DeSisto.
There have been no court filings since that date.
Assault of Co-Worker - Antisemitism
The lawsuit goes on to detail an incident in August 2023, in which DiPetrillo was ultimately arrested for slapping an employee across the face — after DiPetrillo said “Do you want to hear my Nazi joke?” in front of several individuals.
According to the lawsuit, DiPetrillo said, “Knock, knock?” And the employee said, “Who’s there?”
“Before the words even left [the victim’s] mouth...DiPetrillo open palm slapped him across the face,” according to the suit.
The employee in question is Jewish; Boulais says in the lawsuit she provided a statement to police regarding the incident.
Court records show that following his arrest, the case against DiPetrillo was disposed. According to Boulais’ lawsuit, DiPetrillo was given a ten-day suspension by the city — and returned to work.
The Warwick Division of Water is a Family Affair
Terry DiPetrillo, the director of the City of Warwick’s Water Division, has had a busy year and a half, and his brother Michael, who works under his supervision, has had a highly profitable run under the same timeframe.
According to documents secured by GoLocal, In 2023, on top of Michael DiPetrillo’s base salary, his received extra pay, included:
$33,632.22 in overtime
$12,253.29 in double
$124.04 in double-time extra
$465.15 in overtime for snow
The total in extra pay was $46,474.70.
With his overtime, Michael DiPetrillo was paid $127,061.81 in 2023.
It was over $15,000 more than any other Water Division employee was paid, including his brother.
And, 2024 is on pace to be an even better year for Michael DePetrillo — he has scored:
$18,503.90 in overtime
$7,200 in double
$1,401.84 in double-time extra
$238.95 in overtime for snow
The total in extra pay in 2024 is $27,343.79 to date. In total, Michael DiPetrillo has been paid $67,115.43 — more than $10,000 more than any other employee of the Division.
In less than 18 months, DiPetrillo has been paid nearly $200,000 in salary and overtime payments.
Efforts to reach Terry DiPetrillo about the assignment of overtime were unsuccessful.
In late June after the lawsuit was unveiled by GoLocal, Warwick Mayor Picozzi told GoLocal that he would be returning all of the campaign donations he received from DiPetrillo.
Picozzi told GoLocal, “I thought about it. I have instructed my campaign treasurer to return all donations to DiPetrillo. I am not sure what the amount is.”
DiPetrillo has given Picozzi five campaign donations between 2021 and 2023 for a total of $500.
DiPetrillo also gave to Picozzi’s predecessor, the late Mayor Joseph Solomon. DiPetrillo donated $900 to Solomon.
“I want to avoid that appearance of impropriety,” added Picozzi.
After GoLocal's initial report on the lawsuit, 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.