Warwick Reviewing City Sexual Harassment Policy

WARWICK, RI — Mayor Frank Picozzi’s administration is reviewing the city’s sexual harassment policy following a $600,000 settlement with former Water Project SupervisorBree Boulais, who sued the city alleging illegal sexual harassment conducted by managers and employees, one of whom has since resigned.

“With regard to its harassment policy, the City is in the process of reviewing it with both the City Solicitor & the RI Interlocal Trust.  The City also recently completed mandatory training for all employees on the topic of harassment in the workplace,” said Liz Tufts,  media coordinator for Warwick Mayor Frank Picozzi.

The lawsuit detailed staff and management’s sexual harassment of Boulais for 18 months, as Human Resources and DPW chiefs ignored her complaints.  The harassment ended only when  Boulais, resigned in October 2023, after what she described as more than a year of sexual harassment, ignored by, encouraged by and conducted by Warwick Water Division Chief Terry DiPetrillo.

The suit describes 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.

“Ms. Boulais bravely came forward to hold the City of Warwick Water Division accountable for the harm she suffered.  This settlement is a testament to her strength and perseverance. While no amount of money can undo the trauma she endured, this resolution provides our client with the means to move forward.  We hope this case sends a clear message that workplace harassment will not be tolerated, and that those who experience it have the right to speak out and seek justice.  We are proud to have stood by her side and will continue to advocate for safer, more equitable workplaces for all,” said Boulais’s lawyers, Paige Munro-Delotto of Munro-Delotto Law and Michael Beagan of Beagan and Beagan.

The Boston Globe originally reported the settlement Feb. 20. Warwick Water Chief Terry DiPetrillo resigned Jan. 24.

Following the settlement, Warwick City Councilman Vinny Gebhart, who had called for DiPetrillo’s dismissal, said he hadn’t heard anything on an update yet.

“No such communication has been made to us at this point,” Gebart said.

Councilman Jeremy Rix said the Council has not heard anything since then either. Regarding a revised policy, Rix said, “I would want to hear more from the City Administration on the training and policies that the City has in place to prevent sexual harassment, and hear more about any changes that that the City Administration may be implementing, before commenting on whether I think those trainings and policies are sufficient.”

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

A second 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.

That lawsuit is not resolved.

Author: Rob Borkowski

Rob has worked as reporter and editor for several publications, including The Kent County Daily Times and Coventry Courier, before working for Gatehouse in MA then moving home with Patch Media. Now he's publisher and editor of WarwickPost.com. Contact him at editor@warwickpost.com with tips, press releases, advertising inquiries, and concerns.