New complaints of sexual misconduct, unprofessionalism filed against Dewey town manager
New complaints were filed this week on behalf of several former town employees and one businesswoman against Dewey Beach Town Manager Marc Appelbaum, including allegations of sexual harassment and unprofessionalism.
This brings the total of complainants against Appelbaum to 15, with career employees, including several members of the Dewey Police Department, including Police Chief Sam Mackert, as well as town building inspector William Mears, numbering among them.
The new complaints were formally lodged with the Public Integrity Commission on Thursday, as Appelbaum continues to serve in his role while the town investigates claims. The town has held two executive sessions since the original letter was submitted on June 14.
Dewey Beach Mayor Dale Cooke said Friday morning that the town commission is authorizing the town attorney to hire a separate law firm to do an independent investigation, and that the complainants now have a separate point of contact with the town, rather than via Appelbaum.
Cooke said that Max Walton with Connolly Gallagher, LLP., in Newark, will be conducting the investigation.
Meanwhile, Appelbaum is aware of the June 14 letter, but will "comment at the appropriate time," he said previously. On Friday, June 30, a call to his office resulted in a staff member saying Appelbaum did not wish to comment at this time.
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New issues
The new batch of complaints filed on consecutive days this week allege Appelbaum committed acts of unprofessionalism, sexual harassment and improper interference with other officials, reflecting similar allegations in the original June 14 complaint.
On Tuesday, Diane Jones, Bethany Beach Alderman Court clerk, filed a complaint against Appelbaum that alleges he routinely treated her in a “demeaning” way and would “intimidate” her, “treat the office as a frat house,” walking around barefoot and in pajamas, and ask her to perform duties not authorized by the court.
On Wednesday, a complaint was filed by Barbara Kyweski, former judicial clerk in the Alderman Court. In it, she alleges that Appelbaum would repeatedly ask her to perform work outside her role as judicial clerk in violation of the town charter and demand information that was supposed to be off-limits to town hall employees.
She alleged she believes she was denied annual raises in retaliation for not doing said work or providing Appelbaum the information he requested.
In the complaint, Kyweski further alleges that Appelbaum would “more often than not,” “treat the office like his bedroom or living room, walking around in pajamas and barefoot,” and would “drop ‘f-bombs’ and call subordinates at the top of his lungs from his office.”
She claims that because she “could no longer tolerate the toxic environment that was created by Mr. Appelbaum,” among other cited reasons, she finally left her position.
On Thursday, another complaint was filed on behalf of Martha Sweeney, an employee of Highway One properties, which operates several businesses in Dewey Beach.
In her affidavit, Sweeney claims that in the town manager’s office, Appelbaum placed his hand on her leg and said, “if you play your cards right, with some luck you could have my job some day.”
The initial letter of complaint, dated June 14, called for the immediate ousting of Town Manager Marc Appelbaum by Dewey Beach Mayor Dale Cooke and other members of the board of town commissioners.
Cooke said Friday morning that the town is waiting for the results of an investigation before taking action against Appelbaum.
"You have to assume in America that everyone is innocent until proven guilty," he said. "The idea is that what should be done is that the accused and the accusers are separated. It’s important to protect everybody in that aspect."
The letter further alleges that "Mr. Appelbaum's sexual harassment of women has been known to some of the Commissioners since at least 2010," before he was appointed as town manager.
"Boiling point"
The complainants are being represented by Richard Cross, Jr., of Cross & Simon, LLC., in Wilmington, Delaware.
Cross said the situation has reached "a boiling point," made more concerning by the fact that the complaints have now come from people outside the town government.
"I think that the concern is that Mr. Appelbaum has a history of complaints being made against him, and we have a town council that inexplicably has chosen a path of sweeping those allegations under the rug," he said.
The June 14 letter made numerous allegations against Appelbaum, including sexual harassment, abusive conduct and lack of professionalism, racial discrimination and improper interference with the town beach patrol, law enforcement and building inspector.
Among the specific allegations, detailed in 42 examples over the letter, Appelbaum is accused of:
• Wearing “pajama bottoms, without underwear, into the office."
• Screaming and swearing at town employees.
• Referring to employees of color as “the brown people,” and treating them as inferior.
• Going “around the chain of command at the police department, interfering with discipline, creating an unprofessional environment and jeopardizing public safety.”
• "Berated and humiliated" Dewey Beach Patrol Captain Todd Frichtman during a shouting match that occurred between the two after Appelbaum directed the number of lifeguards scheduled to work on Memorial Day weekend to be reduced from 31 to eight.