Selectmen settle lawsuit

WINSTED — During their meeting on Monday, June 20, the selectmen unanimously approved an undisclosed settlement in a lawsuit alleging discrimination and civil rights violations by a former town employee.The lawsuit was filed in May in state superior court by former fire department Captain Philip Roche.Originally, Roche filed a complaint, against the town with the state’s Commission on Human Rights and Opportunities back in April 2009.The Winsted Journal has obtained a copy of the complaint which details the allegations Roche made against the town.In the complaint, Roche wrote that he had to resign in February 2009 after two years of employment.“At the time I was hired, I was informed I could make a selection to join a union or remain independent and negotiate personal employment issues with the town and Civil Service Commission,” Roche wrote in the complaint. “I chose to be represented by the union. Then Deputy Chief Porter Griffin told me that the decision to join the union was a ‘fatal mistake.’ Shortly after I began my employment, I heard offensive racial remarks made by [Griffin].”Roche noted that Griffin was, at the time, the chairman of the Civil Service Commission.“During a conversation between [Griffin] and [Fire Chief Robert Shopey] in the dispatch office, I heard Griffin tell Shopey to keep their conversation down ‘so the Puerto Rican can’t hear.’” Roche wrote in his complaint, “On or about March 27, 2008, as I entered the office, I heard Deputy Chief Griffin tell Chief Shopey, ‘Chief, I’ll talk to you anytime, but I don’t have to speak to the Dirty Puerto Rican.’”Roche continues on to allege that, in April 2008, several unsubstantiated allegations were raised concerning his job performance.Those allegations included that he was violating the law by holding a second job at the same time he was working for the fire department.It was also alleged that he was refusing to answer calls for emergency service, that he was “double dipping” from the town by submitting overtime and comp time during the same time periods and that he was constantly arriving for work late and leaving early.A few days later, Griffin spoke with members of the Board of Selectmen and advocated that Roche’s position be eliminated.On April 29, Roche made a formal written complaint to Chief Shopey regarding Griffin’s alleged racial comments.“[Griffin] told me he felt entitled to make racial slurs because his former son-in-law was Puerto Rican and his two grandchildren had dark complexions,” Roche wrote in his complaint. “Several times I expressed to [Griffin] that his comments were offensive.”In May 2008, then-Town Manager Keith Robbins investigated Roche’s allegations.Roche wrote in his complaint that in June, Robbins made a finding that racial discrimination did occur.“[Robbins] made a finding that Chief Shopey took no action of any sort towards [Griffin] despite his knowledge of the ongoing racial discrimination,” Roche wrote in his complaint. “[Robbins] claimed he could not impose discipline towards [Griffin] as a fire department officer. However, [Robbins] claimed he could impose discipline towards [Griffin] in his role on the Civil Service Commission Board for the racial discrimination.”Roche wrote that the discipline imposed by Robbins on Griffin included a letter of apology and mandated racial sensitivity training.“Neither of these disciplinary requirements imposed on [Griffin] were fulfilled,” Roche wrote. “No additional action was taken against [Griffin] despite his open defiance of the discipline imposed by [Robbins].”Roche then goes on to write that, in May 2008, his activities were being documented by Police Dispatcher Bascetta, also a fire department volunteer.“[Bascetta] was using resources of the police department to pass along scandalous, malicious and false information about me to others without authority or command of the police or fire chief to do so,” Roche wrote in his complaint. “Despite his being in the role of police dispatcher while engaged in these activities, an internal police department investigation found that he was not acting as a police department representative, but as a member of the [fire department] over which the Police Chief had no authority.”Roche alleges that Shopey requested a detailed and itemized list of any and all evidence from Bascetta outlining any concerns he had, but that Bascetta did not submit anything.Roche goes on to write that, in January 2009, Griffin, in his role of Civil Service Commission chairman, had sought Roche’s personnel file, time cards and compensation records through a Freedom of Information Act request without cause.“I feel his seeking my personnel records, time cards and compensation records was an additional attempt to harass me,” Roche wrote in his complaint. “I feel his seeking my personnel, time cards, compensation records and subsequent use of it was in retaliation for my complaints surrounding the hostile environment in [town] and [the fire department]. I feel that no follow-through on my concerns or complaints by the [town] and [the fire department] was intentional. I feel that the hostile environment of racial discrimination is accepted, tolerated, and by the lack of action towards any mitigation of it, encouraged by the [town] and [the fire department.]”On April 29, 2011, the U.S. Department of Justice Civil Rights Division notified Roche that he could file a lawsuit against the town based on his complaint.At Monday’s Board of Selectmen’s meeting, the selectmen met in executive session with Roche’s attorney, David Monastersky of the law firm of Howd and Ludorf in Hartford.