Judge Tosses Ex-DPW Worker's Antisemitism Suit vs. New Castle; Appeal Planned

Former New Castle Department of Public Works employee Jeffrey Chiara's lawsuit against the town and officials has been thrown out.

In a ruling dated May 24, State Supreme Court Justice Nicholas Colabella stated that comments at the heart of Chiara's lawsuit, which alleged antisemitic comments made by former co-worker Michael Molnar, did not impact his employment and were not specifically directed against him.

Chiara alleged that Molnar made offensive comments about his wife, who is Jewish. He also claimed that New Castle's work place was hostile. In his suit, he sought to “recover damages for discrimination, disparate treatment and hostile work environment.”

"There is no basis in this case to find that plaintiff was subject to any adverse employment action, directly or indirectly, by the town on the basis of religion," Colabella wrote in his 4-page ruling.

Colabella also wrote that antisemitic comments allegedl made by Molnar were not specifically directed to Chiara and did not mention his wife's religion.

Antisemitic comments that Chiara attributes to Molnar include calling him a "Jew lover," and “that Hitler had the right idea to skin the Jews and make lampshades out of their skins."

Reached for comment Tuesday, Chiara vowed to appeal the ruling, which was granted after the town made a motion to dismiss the case.

"Justice will be served," he said. Chiara has 30 days to file an appeal notice to the state's next highest court level.

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The legal action has been ongoing since 2005, when Chiara first filed a lawsuit against the town. Chiara was suspended in 2006 and fired in 2007, after New Castle cited poor conduct in the work place and insubordination. The accusations against Chiara, who unsuccessfully appealed the termination, include incidents of punching a town-owned vehicle, making rude comments and skipping work.

For our previous coverage of Jeffrey Chiara's case, click here for details. A copy of the ruling is attached as a PDF file.

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