East Haven Mayor Joseph Maturo Jr. Accused of Sexual Harassment

East Haven Mayor Joseph Maturo Jr. allegedly used sexually graphic language, repeatedly grabbed his crotch, and exposed himself to a female town employee, according to a complaint filed with the Connecticut Commission on Human Rights and Opportunities.
The alleged victim works in Town Hall with Maturo and has hired Attorney John L. Williams of New Haven to represent her. Patch is not naming the woman because of the nature of the allegations.
Maturo in a prepared statement released late Thursday blasted the employee saying he was “saddened” by the complaint and added it is “patently false allegations contained in that filing.”
Maturo labeled the employee as a “disgruntled employee who was on the verge of being terminated.” The mayor said the woman “chose to address her employment problems by filing a salacious complaint against me and the Town of East Haven.”
In the seven-page complaint the woman alleges “I was subjected to a hostile environment based on my sex, consisting of ongoing sexual harassment by the mayor, continuously for years to and including May 5, 2014.”
In the complaint it alleges Maturo made graphic comments about the woman’s breasts including saying “Seriously, how much do those weigh?”
Maturo also allegedly grabbed his crotch on several occasions in front of the employee and remarked “This is for you,” the complaint alleges.
On October 24 or 25, 2013, the employee was in Maturo’s office and bent down to file something, and Maturo allegedly went up behind her and remarked “While you’re down there,” the complaint alleges.
When the employee turned around she alleges, Maturo was exposed near her face and she screamed, the complaint alleges.
At one point Police Chief Brent Larrabee told Maturo he was sexually harassing the employee, the complaint alleges.
The employee said in the complaint the working conditions are intolerable and she has suffered “severe emotional distress.”
She has requested the state investigate Maturo’s conduct.
In Maturo’s statement he vows that the complaint will not district him from running the town.
“Most importantly, I wish to assure the residents of East Haven that my team and I will not allow this matter to deter or distract us from efficiently managing the day-to-day business of the Town. Our team has worked hard to provide residents with efficient, accountable, and reliable government and will continue to do so,” Maturo said.
Maturo also said “With regard to the complaint itself, I am confident that as this legal process unfolds, further investigation will prove all of (the) allegations to be both unmerited and false.
Again, I am disappointed that (the employee) has opted to engage in this course of antagonistic litigation. However, I will respect this legal process and defer any further legal comments to the attorneys handling this matter on behalf of the Town,” Maturo said in his statement.