A New Haven building inspector alleges in a lawsuit filed this week in U.S. District Court that he was retaliated against when he blew the whistle on “illegal and unethical practices” in the city’s building code office.
John A. Raffone, who has worked in the Office of Building Inspection and Enforcement since 2007, alleges in the suit that his superiors repeatedly failed to act on his reports of code violations, failure to secure permits and failure to pay permit fees. In response to his complaints, Raffone’s supervisors allegedly launched a campaign of harassment that culminated in forcing him onto paid administrative leave in November 2016, where he remains, according to the suit.
“Management in the department and the city of New Haven would rather pay (the) plaintiff to remain out of work than to be at work pointing out the illegal and unethical practices set forth in this complaint,” the action charges.
The seven-count lawsuit, which alleges that Raffone developed stress-related illnesses as a result of harassment, charges the city with violations of the Americans with Disabilities Act, the family leave law and retaliation.
City spokesman Laurence Grotheer declined to comment on the allegations, citing ongoing litigation.
The suit alleges that throughout Raffone’s time in the office, officials often turned a blind eye to violations at properties owned in some cases by politically connected companies and individuals.
As far back as 2007 or 2008, coworkers told Raffone that the building at 808 Chapel St. was unsafe and had failed inspections, but little was done, the suit says. Raffone asked the owners of the building to submit an engineering report in February 2015 after he witnessed a piece of the structure threatening to fall onto the sidewalk, according to the action. A supervisor said he would secure the report, but Raffone never saw it, the suit says.
Six months later after he asked for the report, the building collapsed.
As tensions escalated between Raffone and his supervisors in 2014, officials began destroying or removing certain building and permit files, the suit alleges.
After almost a year of off-and-on medical leave for stress-related illnesses, Raffone was placed on paid leave in November 2016 while the city tried to find him a new position.
He has since turned down a warehouse manager position because he felt himself unqualified, the suit says. He was then offered a building inspector job with the Livable Cities Initiative on the condition he retire in November 2017, a stipulation he rejected, the suit says.
Christopher Hoffman can be reached at news@newhavenbiz.com
