2nd Woman Claims East Haven Mayor Sexually Harassed Her

EAST HAVEN, CT — A second woman was prepared to testify this week that Mayor Joe Maturo Jr. sexually harassed her before Maturo settled his sexual harassment lawsuit brought by an ex town employee before the case went to trial.

The woman, Roxanne Melillo, who ran for town clerk in 2011 on Maturo’s ticket, had submitted an affidavit and was scheduled to testify during the sex harassment lawsuit brought by Francine Carbone.

Maturo settled his sex harassment suit with Carbone on Wednesday - with the town agreeing to pay $175,000 and to cover lifetime medical benefits for her and her husband.

Melillo said she wanted to tell her story to Patch, on the record and with her name used, “because I want people to know I am a real person and I want people to know that he (Maturo) just thinks he can get away with anything.”

“He’s cocky. He’s arrogant,” Melillo said Friday.

Melillo said she “is mad at herself” for not talking sooner. “Maybe I could have prevented Francine from being harassed if I did,” Melillo said.

Asked why she didn’t sue or whether she, too, will file a lawsuit against Maturo, Melillo said she wouldn’t.

“I’ve moved on,” she said. “My only interest in talking is to get the truth out.”

While Maturo did not respond to the new allegations directly, he did release a statement Friday afternoon saying he will not resign, despite calls to do so by the local Democratic Party. He said calls for him to resign are nothing more than partisan rhetoric. (See Maturo's full statement below.)

In her affidavit, Melillo states:

— “I found Joseph Maturo to be condescending toward women”;

— “He told me at the Mayor’s Ball in January 2012 that he hoped he would be in a boat with me because he knows he would not drown. I believe this comment was directed toward my breasts”;

— “During the campaign Joseph Maturo also told me that when he won the election I could work in his office under the desk and that we could go in the closet to have a good time.”

— “I told the investigator that if everyone does not believe that Mayor Maturo did the things that Francine Carbone said that he did then they are stupid.”

Melillo said she thought it was important to get her story out now. “There’s so many woman who are being harassed. Some people think it’s just a celebrity/MeToo issue,” she said. “It’s not - it is happening right here in East Haven.”

See related: Mayor Joseph Maturo Explains Why He Settled Sex Harassment Case

Democratic Chairman to Maturo: RESIGN - And Pay $175,000 Yourself

Mayor Maturo’s Sex Case Settles; How Much Will Ex Worker Get?

On Friday, Democratic Town Chairman Marc Conte, Sr. held a press conference on the Town Hall steps demanding Maturo's resignation. (For more information on this and other neighborhood stories, subscribe to Patch to receive daily newsletters and breaking news alerts.)

Conte said Friday's press conference will be to ask Maturo to both resign and to pay any legal bills the case caused himself instead of town taxpayers being asked to pay.

In a statement released after the settlement on Wednesday, Conte said: "Mayor Maturo needs to step down and the residents should not bear the burden of his indiscretions and serious mistakes as an administrator. Time and time again he has shown his inability to lead by example. Mayor Maturo you should pay for this settlement. Not the taxpayers."

In Maturo's lengthy statement Friday afternoon he says, "Marc Conte's calls for my resignation and for me to pay legal fees in connection with the Town's recent settlement of Mrs. Carbone's federal and state cases has nothing to do with what is right, what is just, or what is in the best interests of the Town of East Haven. Quite oppositely, his calls are an ugly, selfish attempt to exploit a delicate and serious legal situation for political gain. It is simply repugnant that Mr. Conte would seize upon a national movement meant to empower women and use it as a weapon to advance the East Haven Democratic Party's political agenda. Make no mistake about it, that is what he is doing.

"Although we have never, and will never, abet or tolerate injustice, harassment, or wrongdoing in the workplace, we have always defended and indemnified our officials and our employees, including those accused of civil or criminal wrongdoing. In fact, throughout my eighteen years as Mayor, I have strategically settled hundreds of cases out of court and the Town has expended millions of dollars in connection with those settlements to protect our community and its employees from financial exposure. This case is no different - it has only been made out to be different for political reasons.

In this case, the Town has not suffered an adverse judgment and I have done absolutely nothing wrong. Quite oppositely, I have sought only to safeguard the Town in the best ways I know possible from both embarrassment and financial liability. Despite Mr. Conte's partisan antics, there is no basis, in law or in logic, to demand my resignation or that I bear the burden of attorney’s fees associated with any of Mrs. Carbone's actions against the Town.

For eighteen years, I served this community as a career firefighter and for seventeen of the last twenty-one years, I have dedicated my life to protecting and leading this great Town. I have never once allowed partisan pressure or considerations of my own political wellbeing to undermine my decision-making as Mayor. For the benefit of our great community, I cannot and I will not resign. In fact, I am humbled by and thankful for the well wishes, e-mails, and text messages I have received from residents and colleagues who have encouraged me to keep on fighting for our community. Moving forward, I intend to uphold the oath I've taken nine times since 1997 - to discharge my duties as Mayor to the best of my ability and for the continued benefit of our Town's residents," Maturo's statement concludes.

In 2015, former Town Hall secretary Carbone filed a lawsuit, claiming she faced a continual pattern of harassment from Maturo, including inappropriate remarks and obscene gestures, since her employment began in January 1997. During one incident in 2013, Carbone claims Maturo exposed himself in her office.

From Jan. 25, 1997, to Oct. 17, 2014, Carbone was employed by the town. In October of 2014 she was fired.
According to the lawsuit, Maturo continually made comments regarding Carbone's body.

The complaint also alleges that Maturo grabbed his crotch in front of Carbone and in front of a town official.
The incident that Carbone first made involved Maturo allegedly exposing himself to her while she bent down to file documents in a cabinet. Carbone alleges that Maturo's behavior made her working conditions "intolerable," causing "severe emotional distress.

Carbone also filed a Family Medical Leave Act lawsuit, alleging the Maturo administration retaliated against her for taking medical leave.

She lost that case.