'Toxic' culture made her quit, ex-North Hempstead official Moira LaBarbera says in claim against town for damages

North Hempstead's former purchasing director has filed notice she intends to sue the town, alleging she was forced to resign because of a "toxic" workplace after "daring to come forward" and allege the town's deputy supervisor subjected her to "inappropriate" conduct. 

Moira LaBarbera's Oct. 15 claim, a precursor to a lawsuit, doesn't specify the amount of financial damages she's seeking.

Internal investigations previously cleared North Hempstead Deputy Town Supervisor Joseph Scalero of harassment and retaliation complaints but sparked LaBarbera's July resignation, Newsday reported earlier this month. 

LaBarbera's Manhattan attorney, Anna Higgins, declined to comment Monday. 

Town officials including Brian Devine, a spokesman for Supervisor Jennifer DeSena, also declined to comment. Devine cited pending litigation. 

North Hempstead officials "intentionally and negligently created working conditions for the Claimant that were so hostile, toxic and intolerable that any reasonable person would feel compelled to quit," LaBarbera's claim alleges.

The claim, which Newsday recently obtained a copy of, adds that town officials acted in that manner as a form of "retaliation" after LaBarbera's participation in an equal employment opportunity hearing against Scalero. 

Partially redacted town records Newsday previously obtained through a Freedom of Information Law request showed the probe involving Scalero began July 8, 2022, after Town Attorney John Chiara filed a town equal employment opportunity complaint alleging harassment against him on behalf of an unidentified North Hempstead employee. 

Attorney Brian Davis, whom DeSena hired as outside counsel to serve as the hearing officer, cleared Scalero in the harassment case, the records showed. Other records show another outside law firm cleared Scalero of the retaliation complaint.

Davis previously told Newsday, "There was a lot of inconsistency between what people said they heard, so I was not convinced by a preponderance of the evidence of the allegations against Mr. Scalero."

LaBarbera's notice of claim identifies her as the alleged victim in the now-closed harassment case.

An unredacted copy of LaBarbera's resignation letter, which Newsday obtained separately, showed she was involved in the harassment probe and disagreed with Davis' findings.

The letter also revealed a disparaging comment Scalero allegedly made during a June 2022 Republican caucus: "DO YOU HAVE A DOG WHISTLE, CAN YOU MAKE HER ROLL OVER TOO?"

LaBarbera, 49, wrote in her resignation letter that the matter left her "emotionally and mentally damaged."

The notice of claim also alleges the town’s “retaliation and wrongful conduct” continued after LaBarbera’s resignation because town officials "intentionally and negligently permitted Claimant's personnel files to be disclosed to Newsday and third parties."

DeSena previously told Newsday the matter was "an obviously fabricated political attack against an administration staff member."

But LaBarbera's notice of claim says that statement from DeSena "was the same false narrative that the Town had spread … to malign and discredit her character."

Democratic Councilwomen Veronica Lurvey and Mariann Dalimonte previously alleged DeSena illegally hired and paid Davis, the hearing officer, by not following procurement policy that says legislators have to approve such hires and payments.

But DeSena, a Democrat who caucuses with Republicans and next week is facing off at the polls against former Democratic Town Supervisor Jon Kaiman, has said she followed town code "to the letter of the law" while pointing to a section on anti-discrimination policy.

Lurvey, who is seeking election as town receiver of taxes, and Dalimonte, who's seeking reelection, recently asked Nassau's comptroller and New York's attorney general to look into the matter of Davis' hiring. Lurvey said Monday that the comptroller declined to investigate and the attorney general's office hadn't responded.

A comptroller's spokeswoman previously told Newsday there didn't appear to be an ongoing failure to follow town codes. The attorney general's office didn't respond to an inquiry.

In seeking damages, LaBarbera, who was set to collect a town salary of $132,303 this year, cites lost earnings, benefits and future employment opportunities, along with harm to reputation and emotional and physical distress.