Ryan Report: Fahey 'Conduct Unbecoming Of A Town Employee'

The town released a partially redacted version of the report Thursday after state officials said it could not redact the entire report.

The town hired Ryan, an attorney, to investigate a complaint about Fahey. Fahey was also investigated by the district attorney's office, which found his conduct was not criminal.

Ryan's full report is embedded at the end of this article.

She interviewed seven people, most of whom are redacted, and examined documents including Fahey's text messages.

According to her report, Ryan did not consider all allegations against Fahey substantiated, but found there was sufficient cause for the town to take action.

"[Redacted] is a poor historian, and her credibility is compromised for the reasons set forth below. Accordingly, I conclude that those of her allegations which cannot be corroborated by others do not meet the preponderance of the evidence standard," Ryan wrote. "That being said, there is sufficient evidence that Fahey has engaged in indiscretions that violate aspects of the Town's policies and warrant corrective action up to and including termination."

The "more serious" and uncorroborated allegations were not detailed in the redacted report. But other allegations were.

Specifically, Ryan said there was sufficient evidence that Fahey violated town policy by downloading pornographic material containing a former employee and showing it to the employee's family, as well as by hugging program participants and employees.

The identity of the former employee and some other details are redacted, but the report suggests Fahey said he showed the video to the family out of concern for the employee.

Ryan also wrote that it was "problematic" that Fahey drove program participants in his truck and had closed-door visits in his office. Fahey denied the closed-door visits.

"Such conduct creates safety concerns and places young adults in vulnerable predicaments and amounts to conduct unbecoming of a Town employee," Ryan wrote.

The report also claimed that Fahey "blatantly refused" to refer people to the licensed social worker with the police department.

"Fahey's consistent pattern of providing mental health advace as an untrained lay person to children and families and his unwillingness to acknowledge and accept the need to refer matters outside his job responsibilities to licensed professionals, including those employed by the town or the Schools [is] even more troubling than his blatant disregard for Town policies," she wrote. "I recommend that discipline and corrective action up to and including termination be considered."

Fahey was fired on May 10, prompting a public outcry.

Fahey is suing the town and Town Manager Andrew Flanagan for breach of contract and defamation. Flanagan recently responded, claiming that Fahey admitted to some of the findings in the report.

Christopher Huffaker can be reached at 412-265-8353 or chris.huffaker@patch.com.