A Patterson Affair: Ex-Employee Files Suit

A former town employee, Melissa Brichta, is suing the town of Patterson for $5 million. Brichta has accused the town of wrongful termination, alleging that her dismissal was the result of her refusal to cover up an affair Town Supervisor Michael Griffen was having with Cathey Bookless Fagan.

Brichta’s employment with the Town of Patterson ended on November 14, 2008. She had worked for the planning and zoning boards from October 1998 to February 2007. After Brichta took a job in the recreation center, she says she was asked to watch after Fagen by Recreation Center Director Sandy Coe. Brichta alleges that this constituted a hostile work environment and led to her dismissal.

Griffen and the town say that Brichta was terminated after it was determined by Putnam County that her position required a civil service test. Brichta’s replacement scored higher on the test.

Griffen’s preliminary defense statement charges that Brichta cannot claim wrongful termination since she was an at-will employee of the town and her complaint was not filed in a timely manner. The statement reads: “We respectfully submit that the plaintiff’s complaint which was prepared by an attorney is a transparent attempt to spoil the reputation of the Town Supervisor Griffen and other and is an improper use of the courts.”

Brichta’s attorney, Nicholas Velez, sent a letter to Town Attorney Tim Curtiss last October saying Brichta is prepared to settle the matter if she can re-obtain her former position with the town and the if town restores more than $5,000 in salary, grants her lifetime medical privileges, and refunds her legal fees. Griffen turned the letter over to the District Attorney’s office, believing the letter to be a form of extortion.

Griffen has acknowledged having the affair with Fagan, who was then working for him as a confidential secretary. The details of the affair were revealed in a series of e-mails that Brichta obtained from town computers. Griffen believes the emails were obtained illegally.

The e-mails reveal Brichta’s suspicions of her superiors. A memo sent in 2008 from Bob and Wendy Gentile asking for Brichta to keep a log of her daily activities spurred Brichta to question whether she was being singled out for criticism and special scrutiny.

“I am being questioned as to what I do all day, like I do nothing,” wrote Brichta in an e-mail to Councilwoman Ginny Nacerino. “This is ridiculous. … I am insulted. I think this is a hidden agenda coming from Mike & Cathey.”

Griffen will not run for re-election this November, and has indicated that the lawsuit helped him to make his decision.