A harassment investigation over the summer is part of a pattern of intimidation, a lawsuit from the former tax assessor says.
A harassment investigation over the summer was one piece in a pattern of intimidation and retaliation in Lopatcong Township, according to a former employee's lawsuit.
Kathy Degan claims she left her position as the township's tax assessor in October after 10 years due to a hostile work environment fostered by the township's clerk and another official and allegedly condoned by some on the township council.
RELATED: 'Nasty' political feud causing dysfunction, investigator finds
Lopatcong Township Clerk/Administrator Beth Dilts (lehighvalleylive.com file photo)The lawsuit, filed late last month, cites a number of run-ins over the last five years with township Clerk and Administrator Beth Dilts and Kathryn Devos, a member of the township's rent-leveling board and reportedly a friend of Dilts'.
Dilts, Devos and the township are named as defendants in the lawsuit, which seeks financial damages.
Degan's attorney, Leonard Artigliere, also cited another goal: "That her name be publicly vindicated."
"Kathy Degan is one of the most professional people that you could ever deal with, and they attempted to defame her personally and professionally," Artigliere said. "She stayed so long (in her job) because of her love of the township in which she lives. She did not run to court."
Attorneys for Dilts and the township could not be reached for comment. Devos said she couldn't talk about the lawsuit because she has not seen it.
Investigations, or lack thereof
The lawsuit's allegations of harassment date back to 2010, when Dilts reportedly complained that Degan gave preferential treatment to family on property assessments.
Degan said Dilts broke into her office and stole files related to the assessments, according to a police report submitted with the lawsuit. The township allegedly took no action against Dilts.
Degan claims the township didn't follow up on her complaints of harassment over the years, and that Devos and Dilts began a "campaign of retaliation" against her.
The most recent of the allegations claims Dilts falsely accused Degan and another township employee of making sexually inappropriate comments about her. The complaint was investigated last summer by an outside attorney.
According to that investigation, Dilts claimed that Degan and others joked that Dilts and Devos were lesbians. However, it found no evidence of wrongdoing by Degan -- the township did follow through on a recommendation to discipline Mayor Tom McKay for unrelated comments.
The lawsuit says the report, based on a confidential personnel complaint, was leaked to the media and that the township didn't follow up on Degan's complaint about its release. Degan and Devos were not named in previous lehighvalleylive.com reports on the investigation.
RELATED: Lopatcong hires special tax assessor amid resident's complaints
Earlier in this year, Devos publicly accused Degan of granting senior and veteran tax deductions to unqualified people, among other allegations.
An investigator hired by the township found no evidence of misconduct, saying that "the deductions were in perfect order," according to a letter used as an exhibit with the lawsuit.
Other allegations
Degan's filing claims Devos began harassing her in 2010 when Devos wanted her property's tax assessment reduced, spurring a series of alleged events over the ensuing five years.
Devos allegedly stalked Degan and her elderly mother, driving slowly up and down the street. In a separate incident, Devos followed Degan home after arguing with her about a friend's tax assessment, the lawsuit says.
In May, Devos filed a report with police that Degan had assaulted her in the municipal building. The two apparently brushed against each other in a doorway, according to a police report included with the lawsuit. No charges were filed.
MORE: How a harassment investigation further politicized Lopatcong
The lawsuit does not name any current or former town council members as defendants, but it does claim the majority of the board -- Council President Lori Ciesla, Councilwoman Maureen McCabe and the recently re-elected Councilman Lou Belcaro -- is supportive of Dilts.
Council members including McCabe and Belcaro should have recused themselves from personnel discussions involving Degan due to various conflicts of interest, the lawsuit says. It also criticized the township for investigating tax appeals itself rather than sending them to the county level as required.
"It got to the point that they were making one cheap shot after another," Artigliere said, "to the point where it became clear the harassment and intimidation would never end."
Steve Novak may be reached at snovak@lehighvalleylive.com. Follow him on Twitter @type2supernovak. Find lehighvalleylive.com on Facebook.
