A former longtime mayor of a New York village is at the center of explosive allegations involving workplace misconduct, racist ramblings and drug use.
Allegations against Peter Imbert, 65, have rocked the small Long Island village of Amityville where he served as mayor for 16 years from 1997 to 2013, while also acting as head of metal manufacturer RCI Industries.
Former employee Ralph Guarino, 39, is alleging Imbert pressured his staff into taking THC edibles and made racist remarks while head of the company, in a lawsuit filed with the New York State Division of Human Rights.
Among the disturbing comments, Gaurino alleges Imbert once told him, ‘whites should stay with whites and blacks should stay with blacks.’
Gaurino claims Imbert also created a hostile and demeaning environment for his employees at RCI, and says he was forced into carrying out menial tasks that included cleaning up after his boss’ dogs and guinea pigs.
The lawsuit paints a picture of a workplace ruled by fear and intimidation, with Imbert allegedly using his position of power to manipulate and degrade his employees.
Among the more unusual instructions Guarino claims to have been forced to undertake was to ‘break glass, purchase anti-freeze and cat food’ so Imbert could poison stray cats in the area.
Guarino claims he was also invited round to watch his teenage girls in bikinis swim in the pool on his property and shoot geese.
Imbert is also alleged to have kept a secret room stocked with ‘illegal weaponry,’ including AK-47s and AR-15s.
Among the allegations, Guarino also accuses Imbert of ordering him to carry out both bizarre and degrading tasks.
They include looking after his marijuana plants while also carrying out basic housekeeping duties including keeping a stock of vape pens, beer, bottled water, shampoo and toilet paper.
Guarino, a maintenance worker at the firm, is alleged to have been ‘summoned’ by Imbert each day to his home to ‘play pool and get stoned’ while consuming THC edibles.
‘For the last 10 years, I’ve constantly been on edge around him, just ready for him to snap,’ Guarino told the New York Post.
‘For two years, every day, I … did anything he wanted. I fear the guy. He once told me he has “No one to answer to but God.”‘
Guarino claims he was the only person in Imbert’s company who was given such tasks which he claims saw him subjected to alleged misconduct and humiliation.
He claims how Imbert would sound off about his faltering sex life with his wife Diane and that his own father never liked his spouse after she would refuse to play along when he would jokingly grab her bottom.
If Guarino kicked up a fuss and complained about Imbert’s requests, he claims his boss routinely humiliated him, calling him a ‘chicken sh**’ and a ‘conniver.’
Guarino’s mother Irene also works as a vice president at RCI and has filed a second separate complaint against Imbert over what she claims was retaliation against her son after she had issues with how her son was allegedly being treated at the company.
Both Guarino and his mother continue to work for the firm and are now seeking unspecified damages for what they describe as a toxic work environment.
‘This was an extremely hostile work environment, and I am proud of my clients for having the courage and bravery to prosecute these discrimination and retaliation claims,’ the Guarinos’ lawyer, David H. Rosenberg, told DailyMail.com.