WARWICK, R.I. — A federal lawsuit portrays a lewd, hostile work environment in the city’s water division, alleging that a female employee was sexually harassed by a co-worker and that when she reported it to her boss, he sexually harassed her, too.
“It was apparent that the leadership of the Water Department seemed to foster an environment of sexism and inappropriateness,” the lawsuit says. “It felt like a ‘boys club.’”
The 50-page lawsuit, filed by former city employee Bree Boulais, details the “Nazi joke” that the Water Division chief, Terry DiPetrillo, made about a Jewish employee before slapping him in the face. DiPetrillo ended up pleading no contest to an assault charge for that incident.
The lawsuit, filed in US District Court in Providence, also claims that DiPetrillo’s brother, Water Division foreman Michael DiPetrillo, threw a heavy, metal tool that landed next to Boulais in a parking lot after they had a dispute over a copy machine.
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That “hostile work environment” forced Boulais to seek mental health treatment and to eventually resign, the lawsuit says, asking the court to order the city to pay an unspecified amount of back pay, compensation, and punitive damages.
The legal action prompted Warwick City Council member Vincent Gebhart to call for the immediate dismissal of Terry DiPetrillo as Water Division chief.
“The presence of antisemitic rhetoric and harassment in any form is a direct affront to the principles of equality and respect that our city stands for,” Gebhart said in a statement. “The safety and dignity of our city’s workforce are paramount, and there is no place for such behavior in our administration.”
Mayor Frank J. Picozzi issued a statement saying, “I can’t comment as this is a legal matter.” He referred questions to the city’s lawyer. City Solicitor Michael A. Ursillo said the Rhode Island Interlocal Risk Management Trust, which insures municipalities, will respond to the complaint.
Picozzi said, “Councilman Gebhart is entitled to make any statement that he wants, but he has no knowledge of the situation other than what he has read in the press.” Referring to Terry DiPetrillo, he said, “Appropriate action against the employee was taken at the time of the incident.”
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But Picozzi’s office would not say what that “appropriate action” was, citing Ursillo’s advice. The suit says Terry DiPetrillo’s discipline for assaulting a co-worker “was only a 10-day suspension and nothing more serious.”
Terry DiPetrillo, who makes an annual salary of $112,774, did not immediately return a call for comment.
Boulais began working for Warwick as a water project supervisor in April 2021, and by spring 2022, “the environment started to become hostile” for her because of her gender, the suit says.
In March 2022, then-city controller Jason Parmelee met with Terry DiPetrillo at the Water Division, according to court documents. Afterward, Boulais received an email from Parmalee saying, “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!”
The suit says Boulais was offended because co-workers and supervisors knew she had a fiancé, and she wrote back to Parmalee saying, “I find your comments extremely inappropriate as well as unprofessional. Moving forward this will not be tolerated.”
She said reported the email to Terry DiPetrillo and a supervisor, business financial manager Michael St. Pierre, and they assured her action would be taken, the lawsuit states.
But a few days later, Terry DiPetrillo sent Boulais an email that said, “You look stunning.” He then approached her desk “in a taunting manner, with a smirk on his face,” and said, “Did you receive my email?” He then laughed and left the building for the day, according to the lawsuit.
The next day, the suit says, Boulais and other co-workers were gathered in an office when Terry DiPetrillo entered the room and said, “Bree, I believe I left my socks by your bedside.”
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Terry DiPetrillo then asked another employee, Richard Moniz, if he wanted “to come by Bree’s later and run a train on her?” A footnote in the lawsuit says “to run a train” is slang that “refers to when multiple men have sex with a woman one after the other, with or without consent.”
In April 2022, Boulais exchanged words with Terry DiPetrillo’s brother, division foreman Michael DiPetrillo, over a copy machine being moved. While walking to her car for a lunch break that day, a large metal tool known as an angle grinder landed a few feet in front of her, and she looked up to see Michael DiPetrillo glaring at her, according to the lawsuit.
Michael DiPetrillo later claimed the tool “fell off the back of his truck,” and he ended up receiving a 10-day suspension without pay and a verbal warning, the suit says.
In April 2023, according to the lawsuit, Boulais received an email from a supervisor, St. Pierre, saying in part, “I find myself that I’ve developed some feelings for you. I don’t expect you to reciprocate at all, but I want you to know.” He later apologized.
In May 2023, Terry DiPetrillo hired a new employee, Norman Metz, who began making “inappropriate” comments to Boulais, the lawsuit states. Once, Metz approached her desk, saying, “You would look a lot prettier if you smiled.” She told him, “I’m not here for your entertainment.” The suit says two other employees told her that Metz was telling co-workers he was dreaming about her taking off her clothes.
In July 2023, Terry DiPetrillo showed Boulais a picture of him grilling outside with nothing on other than an apron, the suit says. He asked her, “How do I look?” She continued typing, and he walked off laughing loudly.
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In August 2023, Terry DiPetrillo said he wanted to see her in the office of another employee, Peter Broomfield, so he could tell a joke. According to the lawsuit, he asked Broomfield to stand up and said, “Do you want to hear my Nazi joke? Knock, knock?”
Broomfield began to say, “Who’s there?” But before the words could leave his mouth, Terry DiPetrillo slapped him in the face with an open palm. “The sound of the slap was audible and it left a red mark on Mr. Broomfield’s face for hours,” the suit says. Broomfield, who is Jewish, quickly left while Terry DiPetrillo “was laughing hysterically.”
At the end of August 2023, Boulais began receiving treatment from a therapist who provided her a note for a leave of absence. And in October 2023, Boulais emailed the city an in-depth resignation letter detailing “the harassment and hostility she faced while employed by the Water Division.”
“The only reason I am on stress/medical leave is due to the treatment I have endured at work for about a year and a half which I complained about and was never fixed,” Boulais wrote. “I have waited patiently for something to be done to stop these men, and I did everything right reporting up the chain of command. The best response I ever got was ‘don’t make waves’ versus having any superior, manager, or HR stop this conduct.”
After seeking treatment, she said, “I have no other choice but to leave there and not return for my own safety, mental health, and well-being.”
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Edward Fitzpatrick can be reached at [email protected]. Follow him @FitzProv.