Warwick Water Chief DiPetrillo Resigns

WARWICK, RI —  Warwick Water Chief Terry DiPetrillo, among officials named in a lawsuit detailing an atmosphere of violence and sexual harassment within his department, has resigned, according to Mayor Frank Picozzi’s office.

Elizabeth Tufts, the Mayor’s  media coordinator, said the city could not comment on the resignation except to confirm it. She said the city will advertise the position next week.

In June, Warwick City Councilman Vinny Gebhart called for Warwick Water Chief Terry DiPetrillo’s dismissal, according to a press statement, “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,” Gebhart wrote at the time.

When reached for comment Friday, Gebhart said, “I look forward to seeing a director who will uphold the city’s values and make its residents proud.”

The lawsuit, BREE BOULAIS, Plaintiff, v.CITY OF WARWICK and WARWICK WATER DIVISION, by and through Mayor Frank J. Picozzi, details a workplace of rampant violence, sexual harassment at every level of the Water Division as well as from one member of the city’s Finance Department, an absence of accountability for sexual harassment complaints or regard for the gravity of those complaints within the department, similar disregard for multiple reports of violence and intimidating actions, all either under DiPetrillo’s supervision or made by DiPetrillo himself, between March 2022 through October 2023.

DiPetrillo, City of Warwick, named in second lawsuit alleging unlawful discrimination, termination

The lawsuit followed DiPetrillo’s arrest by Warwick Police in August 2023 for assaulting another member of his staff, slapping the person as the punchline in a joke the victim described as anti-semitic. The assault charge against DiPetrillo was later disposed, or dropped, but on Oct. 24, 2024, the person DiPetrillo slapped in the so-called, ‘Nazi joke,’ Warwick Water Division employee Peter Broomfield, filed his own lawsuit against Warwick and the Water Department alleging unlawful employment practices for the assault and other behavior, including, “severe and pervasive harassment and disparate treatment, as well as an unresolved hostile work environment,” under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, Deprivation of Rights (for Assault by State Actor), Rhode Island Fair Employment Practices Act and the Rhode Island Civil Rights Act of 1990.

The lawsuit reiterated allegations made in Boulais’s lawsuit, including the assault, and seeks:

• An order declaring the practices described are unlawful, back pay with interest, front pay, compensation for all other lost income and benefits
• An order that Defendant make Plaintiff whole by awarding appropriate back pay with interest, front pay, compensation for all other lost income and benefits, earning capacity, and all other relevant entitlements and emoluments;
• An order that  Broomfield be awarded an amount of money which will fairly compensate the Plaintiff for his mental anguish, emotional pain and suffering, damage to his reputation, loss of standing in the community, and other damages incurred;
• An order that the defendant pay Broomfield’s costs and reasonable attorney’s fees resulting from this action;
• An order that the defendant pay multiple damages
• An order that the defendant pay punitive or exemplary damages, as appropriate to punish defendant for their malicious conduct, recklessness conduct, and/or callous indifference to the statutorily and common law protected rights of Broomfield;
• An order, that Defendant pay post-judgment interest

On Dec. 23, The City of Warwick filed a response to that suit, denying its responsibility for the “acts and omissions of its agents under Respondeat Superior,” the legal doctrine holding employers responsible for the actions of their employees. The response also invokes the statutory cap on damages recoverable, and pleads statutory and common law immunity.

Copies of the October complaint and the City’s response are attached to this article below.

Related coverage of sexual harassment lawsuits against Warwick & DiPetrillo 

Suit: Warwick Sexual Harassment By City Managers Lasted 18 Months

Gebhart Calls for DiPetrillo’s Dismissal After Sexual Harassment Lawsuit

Warwick Water Chief Charged For ‘Anti-Semitic’ Slap

Suit Claims Water Division Foreman Negligent in 2022 Crash

City: Managers in Sexual Harassment Suit Attended Training Six Months Earlier

Warwick Sexual Harassment Case Points to Larger Issue with Picozzi’s Leadership Warwick-response-to-Broomfield-Lawsuit-DiPetrillo-resigns Broomfield-Lawsuit-DiPetrillo-resigns