Listen 6 min

       Comment on this story Comment

       Gift Article

       Share

       An internal investigation has found that a former top adviser to Mayor Muriel E. Bowser (D) made unwelcome sexual advances on five separate occasions toward a D.C. government employee, according to a report the Bowser administration released Monday.

       Fast, informative and written just for locals. Get The 7 DMV newsletter in your inbox every weekday morning. ArrowRight

       The probe by the Mayor’s Office of Legal Counsel substantiated a female staffer’s claim that John Falcicchio, Bowser’s closest adviser until his March 17 resignation, sexually harassed the staffer in 2020 at his apartment where she went “at his direction for work-related reasons,” according to the report.

       In June, a separate investigation, also by the MOLC, substantiated another employee’s allegations that Falcicchio sexually harassed her and sent her lewd and explicit messages.

       Falcicchio, 44, who served as Bowser’s $230,000-a-year chief of staff and deputy mayor for planning and economic development, did not respond to messages seeking comment. Neither did his attorney, Grace Speights.

       Advertisement

       After initially agreeing to answer an investigator’s questions, Falcicchio “canceled” the interview and then declined requests to respond to the allegations, according to the three-page report, which identifies him only by his two job titles.

       Falcicchio’s accuser, like the one who filed the first complaint, is not identified in the report released by the MOLC.

       Debra Katz and Kayla Morin, the attorneys representing both of Falcicchio’s accusers, said in a statement that the second investigation’s finding establishes “a disturbing and longstanding pattern of predatory behavior by one of the most powerful men in Washington.”

       The attorneys said they “urge the District to implement immediate and comprehensive reforms to safeguard others from being treated in this reprehensible manner.”

       Katz, through a spokesperson, declined to talk about potential settlement discussions involving her clients. Bowser, when asked at a news conference Monday about potential compensation for the women, said, “We’re not prepared to talk about a settlement.”

       Advertisement

       Vanessa Natale, MOLC’s deputy director who stood alongside Bowser on Monday, said her office has had “informal” discussions with the complainants’ attorneys and there “could possibly be settlements.”

       Natale, when asked if anyone in the administration knew about Falcicchio’s conduct, said none of the “20-something or 30-something witnesses” interviewed for the investigation said they had knowledge of Falcicchio sexually harassing the two complainants.

       “Gossip is something else and there’s always a lot of gossip,” she said. “But we do our work with facts.”

       The summary of the second investigation adds detail to a scandal that has dogged the mayor since the women filed their complaints in March. Falcicchio’s sudden departure, announced in a single sentence at the end of a lengthy news release about staff changes, stunned the city’s political and business establishment in which he had immersed himself as Bowser’s chief political adviser through three victorious mayoral campaigns, and as a point man overseeing a 37,000-employee government.

       Advertisement

       Falcicchio’s first accuser told The Washington Post in several interviews that he twice sought to have sex with her in his apartment, including once when he masturbated in front of her. That woman also told The Post that Falcicchio sent her lewd and explicit messages, including a video of himself masturbating.

       The second accuser made a total of four allegations against Falcicchio, two of which were substantiated, according to the MOLC summary. Like the first accuser, the woman worked in the deputy mayor’s office for planning and economic development that Falcicchio headed.

       As part of the review, an investigator conducted 18 interviews with 13 current and former D.C. government employees and spent four hours at Katz’s office reviewing documentation, according to the summary. The woman was interviewed twice.

       Advertisement

       The investigation substantiated the employee’s claim that Falcicchio made unwelcome “physical” advances at his apartment on four occasions in 2020, according to the summary. The employee also claimed that Falcicchio that same year made an “unwanted sexual advance” at a “different location outside of work hours.” The summary that the MOLC released does not specify the location.

       The investigation also substantiated the woman’s claim that Falcicchio sent her “flirtatious messages and asked her personal questions about her romantic life to manipulate her into feeling comfortable with him,” according to the summary.

       The woman claimed that Falcicchio’s “repeated romantic attention was unwanted and intended to make her less resistant” to his “subsequent sexual advances.”

       The investigation did not substantiate the woman’s claim that Falcicchio “retaliated” against her for rejecting him by “reducing” her duties, “ruining” her reputation, and being hostile to her and another employee. The summary does not identify the employee or explain why that person was a target of Falcicchio’s alleged hostility.

       Advertisement

       In addition, the investigation did not substantiate the woman’s claim that, at Falcicchio’s “behest,” a senior staffer in the deputy mayor’s office “treated her unprofessionally” by excluding her from emails, ignoring her emails, giving her a poor performance evaluation and “belittling” her during meetings.

       The investigator determined that “some evidence” exists that the senior staffer treated the woman poorly, but did not find proof that Falcicchio influenced the treatment. Natale, at the news conference, explained that “saying something is unsubstantiated is not saying or denying it happened.”

       “Because it was unsubstantiated just means we didn’t have the evidence, the facts, to substantiate it,” she said.

       The two accusers’ complaints against Falcicchio prompted Bowser in March to direct her legal counsel’s office to investigate. Bowser’s request spurred questions about whether lawyers who report directly to the mayor are independent enough to conduct a probe of an official as high ranking and as close to her as Falcicchio.

       Advertisement

       Bowser, even before the second probe was completed, contended that an outside investigation was unnecessary given that the sexual harassment charges were substantiated and Falcicchio has resigned. She also has warned that an outside probe would cost taxpayer funds.

       Nevertheless, the D.C. Council, in a recent and unanimous vote, passed emergency legislation requiring an independent counsel to review the findings of the legal counsel’s two investigations.

       Bowser, who has until Tuesday to sign the legislation or it automatically becomes law, said, “I’m going to be reviewing it” (Congress, which has oversight over D.C. laws because of a provision in the Constitution, is not required to review the bill because it is emergency legislation).

       The mayor also said her office is reviewing the city’s sexual harassment policy for potential changes. “We will be sharing that when it’s complete,” she said.

       Comments

       Gift this articleGift Article

       Loading...

       View more