'I'm not going to hide any more.' Upstate NY workers accuse elected official of harassment
Time after time, the highway department employee alleged, the Town of Orange highway superintendent would find reason to have her alone with him after a job.
Their drives from a worksite, after the male employees had been sent away separately, grew more worrisome, she alleged in a complaint to the state's Division of Human Rights. The superintendent, John Rappleye, would strike up conversations about her personal life, and some would start to veer into sexual content. She'd change the subject, she said.
The woman who complained said he once called her a "stupid b-----" and used the "n-word" as well as an ethnic slur for Italians.
Neither Rappleye nor a lawyer who has represented him responded to calls.
Her complaint is one from four separate Town of Orange workers about Rappleye's conduct. The state Division of Human Rights ruled against one of the complainants, according to the records obtained through the Freedom of Information Law.
But for officials in the small Schuyler County town — a town of 1,400 located about 13 miles west of Watkins Glen and Seneca Lake — those complaints have become tricky to respond to.
Like other localities, the town board can't fire Rappleye. It has placed him under strict conditions, determining that he cannot meet with other employees without another town official present and must have a deputy superintendent relay work assignments and other jobs.
More: How do we get rid of problematic elected officials? 3 upstate NY towns have same question
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According to a town resolution last year, Rappleye was accused of sexual harassment, threats, racist and sexist comments, and bullying. Rappleye has denied the allegations, records show.
The allegations against Rappleye arose at a contentious town board meeting late last year in the Town of Orange.
"If these people that are getting these (highway) jobs are so soft that they can't take instruction from a man that's got his seniority, that's got his experience, that was raised and grew up in the generation of tough men ... that man's got a heart of gold, if he called someone a this or that, that's how men in this industry work," said one man who spoke, according to a report from WENY News.
"You have to think, if this were my parents, and they were coming home and they were being called these things, and being told these things, which made a work environment where they're not comfortable, I would hope someone would stand up for them too, " said a woman at the meeting, WENY reported.
The woman who alleged that Rappleye made sexual remarks to her also alleged that he retaliated against her after complaints. Her state complaint says, "I've been put in fear of this man and I'm not going to hide any more."
— Gary Craig is a veteran reporter with the Democrat and Chronicle, covering courts and crime and more. You can reach Craig at gcraig@rocheste.gannett.com. He is the author of two books, including "Seven Million: A Cop, a Priest, a Soldier for the IRA, and the Still-Unsolved Rochester Brink's Heist."
This article originally appeared on Rochester Democrat and Chronicle: John Rappleye, Orange NY highway superintendent, accused of harassment
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