Former RI court official seeks to protect files from his old bosses
PROVIDENCE – A former top state District Court administrator is asking a federal judge to bar his old bosses from destroying evidence he says is related to his federal lawsuit against them.
Nicholas R. Cote filed a motion March 1 seeking a court order directing state District Court Chief Judge Jeanne E. LaFazia and other administrators to preserve evidence related to the lawsuit he brought last week.
The motion came in response to an anonymous letter alleging that LaFazia and Lorraine Alfonso, a high-level administrator, entered the Garrahy Judicial Complex at 6 a.m. Feb. 26 and began shredding documents and deleting files.
“Just so you know, they are destroying evidence that can help your case!” reads the letter sent to Cote’s lawyer, Kevin D. Heitke.
“You need to take action right away to stop this power hungry person.”
The letter – which is signed “I am a person in the know and you can believe me” – advises Heitke that the swipe pad and cameras at Garrahy will verify the account.
Cote’s suit argues that LaFazia and the others have a duty to preserve evidence because they were on notice that he would sue after his resignation last November.
He asserts that he will “suffer extreme prejudice” if court officials failed to preserve, or have destroyed, evidence.
“[T]he Judiciary will not be commenting at this time,” spokeswoman Lexi Kriss said in an email Tuesday.
“Sadly, Mr. Cote’s latest allegations have now transgressed from fiction and fantasy to the scurrilous and scandalous,” Michael Colucci, LaFazia’s lawyer, said in response.
Anonymous letter arrives after federal lawsuit
If the letter is to be believed, the administrators’ alleged actions came days after Cote sued the chief judge and other judicial officials, accusing them of forcing his resignation by creating a hostile work environment and retaliating against him after he reported racist, homophobic and misogynistic behavior by a colleague.
Cote alleged that LaFazia, state Supreme Court Chief Justice Paul A. Suttell, State Court Administrator Julie Hamil, District Court Administrator Jamie Hainsworth and unnamed others violated his rights under the Family and Medical Leave Act and the state Whistleblower’s Protection Act, among other violations.
Cote worked in District Court as a “fixer” for 21 years, rising to the role of assistant administrator with a $111,185 annual salary due to, according to Cote’s lawsuit, his hard work, talent and “likeability.”
According to his account, problems arose when LaFazia became chief judge of the court and asked him to do work on her homes in Rhode Island and Florida.
The projects for the chief judge “never fully ended” before others were suggested or required to be completed during court hours and on weekends.
More problems developed due to then-District Court Administrator Stephen C. Waluk’s “misogynist, racist and homophobic” comments at work, the suit alleges.
Waluk was hired by LaFazia as chief clerk of the court in 2012 and was promoted to court administrator in 2015. He resigned Dec. 2, with an ending salary of $174,143, including longevity earned from previous state service, according to the courts.
The courts asked for Waluk’s resignation after Cote said he produced emails from the administrator, according to Cote’s claims.
Waluk has expressed regret for using “bad words” in communications with Cote.
“It must be stated that many of these allegations are wildly false,” Waluk said of Cote’s recent lawsuit.
Cote alleges that LaFazia and other court officials retaliated against him for reporting Waluk’s behavior, demoting him to an entry-level position, axing his salary by $70,000 and disseminating false information that he was a “drug addict,” the suit says.
After consulting the union, Cote was encouraged to resign Nov. 28, amounting to a “constructive” firing without cause, the suit says.
The U.S. District Court judges in Rhode Island recused themselves from presiding over Cote’s case, which has been referred to Judge Paul J. Barbadoro in New Hampshire.
According to a court order Thursday, the clerk informed the court that the state Attorney General’s office was alerted to Cote’s motion to preserve evidence and “steps have been taken to preserve any evidence referenced in the motion.”
The court will issue a ruling on the motion after the state files a formal response.