Two Town Employees Sue Supervisor Susan Siegel for Defamation

Two town employees have filed a lawsuit against the town of Yorktown and Town Supervisor Susan Siegel for defamation of character and are seeking compensatory and punitive damages. 

According to the lawsuit, which was filed with the Supreme Court of the State of New York--Westchester County, Siegel had allegedly said the two employees---highway superintendent Eric DiBartolo and Patricia Cole-- were having a sexual relationship.

In the lawsuit, a copy of which was obtained by Patch, it is alleged that Siegel told several people, including Director of Facilities at the Yorktown school district Dennis Verboys, Yorktown school district Assistant Superintendent of Business Tom Cole, Superintendent of Schools Ralph Napolitano, and President of the Board of Education Jackie Carbine that DiBartolo and Patricia Cole were having a "sexual affair."

Allegedly, according to the lawsuit, she also told several town officials and "gloated" about having repeated the accusations. 

The town received the lawsuit on June 1. 

"Siegel's statement that Patti Cole and DiBartolo were having a sexual affair is materially and completely false," the lawsuit read. "Siegel's malicious and defamatory statement about Patti Cole and DiBartolo was borne out of contentious and malevolent history with DiBartolo."

According to the lawsuit, Siegel allegedly called Verboys on May 27, 2010, asking to borrow a bucket truck to put up flags around town while the town's truck was being repaired. He told her that she had to sign a waiver of liability on behalf of the town before Tom Cole could lend her the vehicle. 

Then, Siegel, allegedly told Verboys that the only reason Tom Cole was withholding the vehicle was because his sister, Patricia Cole, was having a sexual affair with DiBartolo. 

The following day, in a conference call with Napolitano and Cole, she allegedly confirmed the statements she had made. In addition, she allegedly admitted she had made the same statement to Carbone during a phone conversation.

"Tom Cole demanded a retraction and an apology from Siegel for her false and slanderous statements about Patti Cole and DiBartolo," according to the lawsuit. 

Also, it is alleged that Siegel said she would apologize to Tom Cole for accusing him of not loaning the bucket truck, but refused to apologize to his sister and DiBartolo for stating that they were having a sexual relationship. 

As a result, according to the lawsuit, Patricia Cole and Eric DiBartolo claim to have suffered irreparable injury to professional and personal reputation, emotional upset, public humiliation, shame, embarrassment, stress, anxiety and more. 

Amy Bellantoni, of the Bellantoni Law Firm, LLP of Scarsdale, is handling both DiBartolo's and Cole's lawsuits. The town was served with a notice of claim back in 2010, but the issue was not resolved. 

"We had not been able to resolve the matter and we had no choice but to proceed with litigation," Bellantoni said. She said she hopes the involved parties can reach a settlement at a reasonable amount.

DiBartolo and Siegel declined to comment. 

Editor's Note: The article has been updated since its original publication.