Health officer suspended over half-naked rubdown on city time
TRENTON » Hey, Yvette, turn the other cheek.
Longtime health officer Yvette Graffie-Cooper was suspended from her post without pay after video emerged of her half-naked during cellulite-reduction treatment inside the city health offices, The Trentonian has learned.
Officials declined to confirm how long the suspension is set to last, but it’s understood that Graffie-Cooper, who makes $104,137 a year, is expected to stagger the suspension over several weeks till it’s fully served.
That’s partly to ensure Trenton isn’t without a full-time health officer for days on end.
The agreement on her suspension was believed to have been reached before the health officer’s May 3 disciplinary hearing.
West Ward councilwoman Robin Vaughn was pushing for Graffie-Cooper’s dismissal after she got ahold of footage that showed the scantily clad health official getting a fat-burning rubdown, on city time, in a conference room of the health office on North Broad Street.
Photos of the session obtained by The Trentonian showed the health officer bent over a massage table, in lacy underwear and bra, while employees watched the apparent demonstration.
The councilwoman contacted the state Attorney General and Mercer County Prosecutor’s Office, asking them to look into the incident. Mercer County prosecutors were reviewing the councilwoman’s allegations.
The city also launched an investigation into the incident, but Mayor Reed
Gusciora downplayed the severity of the situation in an interview with The Trentonian, calling it another political attack from Vaughn.
“She’s the last person who should be pointing fingers at somebody,” Gusciora said, pointing to the councilwoman’s history of homophobic and anti-Semitic remarks. “If it’s under the context of health, who am I to judge? Consider the source.”
South Ward councilman George Muschal, however, called the demonstration “nasty” and “inappropriate.”