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Fired Saugus town manager files whistleblower lawsuit against selectmen

Former Saugus town manager Scott C. Crabtree has filed a whistleblower lawsuit against the Saugus Board of Selectmen, alleging that his firing in October was retaliation for his investigation into a selectmen’s business activities and his refusal to accommodate “illegal requests” from board members, according to the complaint.

Along with the five-member Board of Selectmen, Crabtree is individually suing three members of the board: Ellen L Faiella, Paul H. Allan, and Stephen L. Castinetti.

The complaint, filed Jan. 13 in Essex Superior Court in Lawrence, also alleges the board violated the state’s Open Meeting Law when it met on Sept. 15 and moved to suspend Crabtree by a vote of 4 to 1.

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The allegations of the Open Meeting Law violations were made in the name of Saugus residents Brian Lewis and David Ricciardelli, who are named as plaintiffs in the suit.

Crabtree, a former selectman, served as town manager from April 1, 2012, until Oct. 29, 2014, when the board voted 4 to 1 to terminate him.

The firing unleashed a backlash among some residents, sparking a movement to recall the four selectmen who voted to fire Crabtree, a Saugus native who is also a former Saugus police officer. A recall election is scheduled for March 17.

Faiella, the selectman chairwoman, could not be reached for comment.

Selectwoman Maureen Dever, vice chairwoman of the board, called the lawsuit “political and legal theater. . . . I believe this was done to affect the outcome of the recall.”

Crabtree is seeking reinstatement as town manager, plus lost pay and benefits, and damages for emotional distress he’s suffered since the firing, the complaint states.

In a statement, Thomas Fowler, a Boston lawyer representing Crabtree, said the complaint was filed to “challenge the . . . unjust termination of Mr. Crabtree’s position as Saugus town manager. We are quite confident that we will succeed.”

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In the complaint, Crabtree alleges that Faiella voted to fire him because he laid her off from her part-time job working in the records department of the Saugus Police Department. She later applied for a clerk’s job in the department but was not hired, the complaint states.

Crabtree alleges Allan voted to fire him because he would not hire a friend of Allan’s son as a firefighter in the town. “Defendant Allan expressed displeasure at . . . Crabtree because [he] could not make the hire,” the complaint states.

Allan also “became upset” with Crabtree over redevelopment issues on a property at 60 Salem Turnpike (Route 107), in which Allan’s brother-in-law, Gary DeCicco, and DeCicco’s business and domestic partner, Pamela Avedisian, had an interest, according to the complaint.

“The allegations that he made against me in the suit are false,” Allan said in an interview. “I look forward to our time in court.”

The complaint also alleges that Castinetti voted to terminate Crabtree after the town manager initiated an ethics investigation into Castinetti’s work as an advertising salesman for Yellowbook. The investigation looked into whether or not Castinetti was “pressuring Saugus businesses to purchase Yellowbook advertising and websites in exchange for favorable treatment by the Board of Selectmen,” the complaint states.

In an interview, Castinetti said he has been given four letters from the state Ethics Commission clearing him of any conflicts.

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“I’m looking forward to the opportunity for this to be aired out in court,” Castinetti said.


Kathy McCabe can be reached at katherine.mccabe @globe.com. Follow her on Twitter @GlobeKMcCabe.