'Much more to come.' Former Bourne elected official files suit alleging illegal recording

A former Bourne elected official has filed a lawsuit against three members of town government saying his privacy rights were violated during a private meeting with Town Administrator Marleen McCollem in January in Town Hall.

Stanley Andrews, the former Bourne Board of Health chair, filed a lawsuit July 31 in Barnstable Superior Court against McCollem of Plymouth, Peter Meier of Buzzards Bay and Elise Zarcaro of Harwich Port.

Andrews accuses McCollem along with Meier, the Select Board chair at the time, and Zarcaro, the Bourne human resources director, of participating in a plan to secretly tape his meeting with McCollem. The defendants in the case are named as individuals, but job titles are mentioned in the complaint itself.

The town of Bourne is not named as a defendant in the case.

Andrews alleges a violation of privacy, using secret electronic surveillance for political purposes; interference with a right to privacy; and civil conspiracy. Andrews alleges in the complaint that he's suffered damages including but not limited to mental anguish, emotional distress, damage to his reputation, interference with his enjoyment of daily life, and a lost sense of community.

In the complaint, Andrews is demanding a jury trial and seeking financial compensation.

Andrews resigned from the Board of Health Feb. 22, according to a letter that was forwarded to the Times by the town.

Attorney Thomas Wynn of Wynn & Wynn, who represents Andrews, said that before the case was filed a litigation hold for both Zarcaro and McCollem's cell phones was put into place, so nothing could be deleted or destroyed.

"There's much more to come," Wynn said. He declined to comment further.

The lawsuit comes after an investigation by the police department into allegations by town custodian Matthew Rose that he saw Zarcaro sitting in a nearby office recording the private meeting between McCollem and Andrews. In the police report, McCollem names Meier as directing her actions. The investigation concluded in July.

The Times reported on Rose's allegations after he spoke with a reporter in July.

The town's response so far

The town is currently reviewing the lawsuit, Bryan Bertram, Bourne town counsel, said in an email.

In an email, McCollem said she was advised by Bertram to refrain from discussing the lawsuit while litigation is pending.

Meier also declined to comment about the case, but admitted he's nervous that the situation has become out of hand. When litigation is over, he said he can offer his side of the story.

"I just want the process done right from beginning to end," said Meier, who remains on the Select Board. "I've worked too hard for the residents of this town for the last 30 years to have my reputation shattered because of this."

Calls made to Zarcaro by the Times went unanswered. In an email, Zarcaro said she had no comment.

Was Andrews secretly recorded?

Much of the basis for the lawsuit comes from town custodian Rose, who alleges he walked in on Zarcaro sitting in the dark in Assistant Administrator Liz Hartsgrove's office in January. Zarcaro was using her cellphone to record a conversation between McCollem and Andrews, Rose said in a previous interview with the Times. The two were meeting in McCollem's connecting office.

"She was sitting in the assistant town administrator's chair, wheeled away from the desk, with her phone next to the door," Rose said. "She turned towards me waved her arms to tell me to not collect trash and put her finger up to her lips to tell me to be quiet."

Rose submitted a statement to Meier, who gave the statement to Bertram. Rose's statement is also included as Exhibit A in Andrews' complaint. The complaint was provided to the Times by Wynn.Mary Jane Mastrangelo, who replaced Meier as Select Board chair in May, and Select Board member Melissa Ferretti told the Times Meier never gave Rose's statement to the entire board at the time of the alleged incident. In a brief telephone interview with the Times on July 19, Zarcaro said no such recording exists.

Asked why she was sitting in Hartsgrove's office in the dark, Zarcaro said she "was just doing my job."

She declined to discuss Rose's allegations further.

Bourne police investigated Rose's allegations

Bourne Chief of Police Brandon Esip said Rose's allegations were investigated, and Esip provided a copy of the police report to the Times. In the report, Rose said he couldn't see what was on Zarcaro’s phone when he entered Hartsgrove's office, and couldn't confirm whether she was recording or not.

Also in the police report, Rose said either later that day or the next day, Rose was in a room with Zarcaro and McCollem’s secretary, Maria Simone. Rose said he made a joke to them, something along the lines of, “Sorry I ruined your sting operation.” Rose said that Zarcaro nervously laughed, and Simone laughed and said she meant to tell Rose to stay out of Hartsgrove's office. Rose took this to mean that recording this meeting was planned.

In the police report, Rose stated that he didn't take video or pictures of the incident. But Rose submitted a written statement to Meier about what he saw. Meier said he then submitted that statement to Bertram.

Because of the pending lawsuit, Rose declined further comment.

Bourne police questioned town officials, in report

In the police report, McCollem said there were contentious issues between Andrews and a town employee. The town employee was not named in the police report. Due to these ongoing issues, she said she was directed by Meier to have someone else listening to the meeting. McCollem stated that Meier came to her office four or five times prior to the meeting to repeat this to her.

McCollem said she left the front door to her office open the entire time, while Zarcaro sat in Hartsgrove’s office to listen and take notes. There was never a recording and nobody was ever asked to take a recording, McCollem said to police, according to the report.

In the police report, Zarcaro admits McCollem asked her to sit in Hartsgrove’s office to take notes on McCollem’s meeting with Andrews. She said McCollem advised that normally she would have Hartsgrove do this, but Hartsgrove was out that day.

Zarcaro stated she was sitting in Hartsgrove’s office and had her personal and work cell phones out, but they were on the table and not in her hands. Officers asked Zarcaro if the lights were off, and she said yes. When asked why, she said there was no reason. Zarcaro stated that when Rose walked in, she was sitting at the table and not standing by the door. Zarcaro also said she doesn't remember Rose making any joke about a “sting operation.”

Bourne police found no probable cause for Rose's claim and the case was closed, according to the police report.

Why was Rose suspended for 15 days?

Rose, who is also represented by Wynn, received a 15-day suspension without pay from McCollem for not following official town procedure in reporting alleged governmental infractions. In a letter to Rose from Hartsgrove, Rose is also accused of insubordination, unauthorized access, malicious lying, and conduct unbecoming for a public employee.

The suspension letter was provided to the Times by Wynn. Rose is serving his suspension, which began Aug. 1 and continues to Aug. 24.In Wynn's opinion, Rose is reliable and courageous for speaking out about what he witnessed.

"He only reported what he observed," said Wynn.

Wynn also said it was inappropriate for Bourne police to investigate McCollem.

"The chief is a really good guy," Wynn said. But the accusations should have been kicked to the Cape and Island's District Attorney's Office, he said. McCollem is the boss of the police chief, he said. "That's an impossible situation."

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This article originally appeared on Cape Cod Times: Former Bourne official seeks trial, money in Town Hall recording case