Teitelbaum threatens lawsuit over Manatee County's handling of sexual harassment claim
Manatee County fired the employee who filed a sexual harassment claim against former School District of Manatee County General Counsel Mitchell Teitelbaum, and Teitelbaum is preparing to file a lawsuit against the county over the situation.
Teitelbaum was in line for a new job working as a deputy administrator under former County Administrator Scott Hopes until he withdrew from the position after a written sexual harassment complaint was filed against him on Dec. 13. He retained his position at the district, but was eventually demoted then left the district when his contract was not renewed on June 30.
Teitelbaum told the Herald-Tribune on Monday that he plans to file a lawsuit against the county in light of the recent termination of the county staff member who filed the complaint and her former supervisor, Records Manager Deborah Scaccianoce, along with a final report issued by the Manatee County Clerk of Court and Comptroller's office last week.
"There's no question in my mind there are significant violations," Teitelbaum said.
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"It is regrettable that an investigation into the matter was improperly denied by the county as required by their policy," Teitelbaum said. "Such investigation would have easily cleared my name of the false allegation. I would have made an excellent deputy county administrator. This was a complete setup to keep me from coming to the county, and it worked."
Hopes and many others involved are no longer employed with the county. Scaccianoce was terminated on Aug. 4, under the administration of interim administrator Charlie Bishop — who was named to the position on Aug. 3. The staff member who filed the complaint was also terminated last week.
Scaccianoce called her termination retaliation and told the Herald-Tribune on Tuesday that she plans to file a lawsuit against the county as well. Scaccianoce said county leadership has attempted to fire her before and investigated her on several occasions until Bishop terminated her as his first action as interim administrator.
The decision was made days after she released text message records between political consultant Anthony Pedicini and several county commissioners to the Herald-Tribune.
When reached for comment, Pedicini said he had no knowledge of her termination. The text messages show Pedicini advising commissioners on matters like board appointments, debating stances on the Holmes Beach parking garage situation, and encouraging a petition drive on county library material matters.
"This is retaliation," Scaccianoce said. "I've been here 10 years, I've never been disciplined, and suddenly every time I turn around I'm being investigated. It's been constant. They were taking responsibility away from me systematically."
"They were trying to find some way to fire me because they couldn't the first time with the Teitelbaum situation," she said. "They did not want those text messages from Pedicini released because those text messages clearly show that Pedicini is giving direction to commissioners."
Contradictions found by clerk's report
Manatee County Clerk of Court and Comptroller Angelina Colonneso issued a final report that found contradictions over the date of the sexual harassment incident and a lack of corroboration from several witnesses.
The report was prepared by a third party, the Johnson Pope law firm, and signed by attorney Coleen M. Flynn. It examined the process the county's human resources department took during its handling of the matter, but not the underlying complaint against Teitelbaum. The county's HR department has been the subject of scrutiny for months, leading to separation from its former director on June 7.
The report included recommendations on future HR matters that include appropriate investigation of sexual harassment complaints when reported verbally. The office also recommended training on how to handle complaints for staff leadership, that HR remain neutral in its investigations and not allow the influence of county figureheads to sway its process, and not issue access badges before official employment start dates.
The sexual harassment complaint was filed in writing on Dec. 13. The staff member reported that the incident took place on Nov. 29, after Teitelbaum was appointed to the deputy administrator position.
The clerk found that Teitelbaum entered the 9th floor of the county administration building on Nov. 29 at 10:30 a.m., and also on Nov. 30 and Dec. 1. But the report found the date was incorrectly reported, and claims the incident instead took place on Nov. 30 because witnesses listed in the complaint were at the public county meeting during the time of the alleged incident on Nov. 29.
According to the report, three out of four witnesses questioned by the human resources department also did not corroborate the story. Scaccianoce said she believes at least some were lying because of fear for their jobs.
Teitelbaum said he feels some of the report's findings support his case.
"The most telling to me is the change of date," Teitelbaum said. "The claimant herself was very specific. From the very beginning, since she met with Zach Ribble, she said that on Nov. 29th, the day of my confirmation, I had come upstairs and I improperly had physical contact with her. She made that very clear."
"Now, when the witnesses don't line up, the people that she says support her say they couldn't have been there, then all of a sudden the date is changing," he said.
The clerk's report also critiqued the HR department's handling of the situation. The report found the verbal complaint made by the staff member was not recognized as "official" until she eventually filed a written report on Dec. 13 with support from her supervisor, Scaccianoce.
Later that day, Hopes directed Harmon to transfer the staff member to another role and place Scaccianoce on administrative leave, both decisions the clerk's report states could have been viewed as retaliatory if they had moved forward. Instead, the staff member was ultimately not moved, and Scaccianoce was returned to work immediately the next morning.
The report states Hopes believes that Scaccianoce and former deputy administrator Robert Reinshuttle should have immediately taken the allegations to HR and not attempted to handle it or look into it themselves, and thought they may have been colluding with or pressuring the staff member.
"HR had evidence that Ms. Scaccianoce was aware of the allegations nearly a week before it was brought to the attention of HR and to me," Hopes told the Herald-Tribune on Monday. "This evidence showed she was discussing the allegation with others including a commissioner, rather than turn over the complaint to HR."
He said the staff member was relocated to keep her away from Teitelbaum while the matter was investigated.
"During a follow-up interview on May 5, 2023 (the staff member) was asked if (she) was pressured by Ms. Scaccianoce or Mr. Reinshuttle to file a complaint about Mr. Teitelbaum," the report states. "(She) stated there was no pressure from either of them and (she) decided independently and with free will to file a written complaint and to disclose (her) name to HR."
Scaccianoce said she has been retaliated against because of her involvement in reporting the incident. She added that there was confusion about the date, but not the situation itself.
"There was no setup, it is a desperate attempt for Scott Hopes and Mitchell Teitelbaum to save face," she said. "It's yet another attack on the victim."
Administrative changes
Both Manatee County and the School District of Manatee County are undergoing major administrative changes for various reasons.
The complaining staff member, Scaccianoce, Harmon, Reinshuttle, Hopes, his former assistant Lauren Grubb, and even Manatee County Commissioner Vanessa Baugh — who intervened on behalf of Scaccianoce after her suspension — are no longer with Manatee County, according to the report.
Hopes resigned from Manatee County on Feb. 7 after months under pressure from the board following the sexual harassment complaint.
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Baugh retired on July 31, after an effort to remove Kevin Van Ostenbridge as chairman of the board and over health concerns for her husband. She was replaced by new Commissioner Ray Turner under the appointment of Gov. Ron DeSantis.
Scaccianoce and the complaining staff member were terminated this month under Bishop's administration.
Teitelbaum has since lost his position with the school district. The board did not renew his contract on June 30, the final day of Cynthia Saunder's tenure as superintendent.
Although unrelated, Saunders parted from the district on June 30 as well, as did Deputy Superintendent Doug Wagner. They were replaced by new Superintendent Jason Wysong and Joseph Ranaldi. Derek Jensen also filled a deputy superintendent role that was left vacant for a year, while Pamela D'Agostino replaced Teitelbaum as counsel
"Everybody that was near me that was involved in this is gone," Teitelbaum said. "Unfortunately, me too."
“There is no doubt that I was a sacrificial pawn in someone else’s chess game."
This article originally appeared on Sarasota Herald-Tribune: Teitelbaum threatens lawsuit over Manatee County harassment debacle
