Opinion ID: 203386
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Bohn

Text: Shortly after DeCaire filed her initial EEO complaint on January 23, 2003, Bohn, who was living with DeCaire, himself suffered adverse actions. He attributed these to DeCaire's having filed the EEO complaint. Dichio assigned a lower-ranking, nonsupervisory DUSM to attend an upcoming HIDTA committee meeting dealing with issues that [Bohn] had specifically been dealing with as the task force supervisor. Bohn went to Paul Durette's office to discuss the issue with him and complained, I feel like I'm guilty by association here because of Cindy's [DeCaire's EEO] complaint. Bohn later told Dave Dimmitt that he believed he was being treated differently because of DeCaire's EEO complaint: I brought up a couple of instances. One was that the Marshal would no longer acknowledge me the same way he had in the halls or in the office prior to the filing of the complaint. Bohn testified that on March 11, 2003, Dimmitt, who had replaced Durette several weeks before, informed Bohn that he was to move his office and turn his car in and would be in charge of what Bohn described as managing special projects and a few other menial tasks. Bohn reminded [Dimmitt] that I felt this was because of Cindy's EEO complaint. Dichio testified that Dimmitt had recommended to him that Bohn be removed from his supervisory role because Bohn had berated a few deputies and was unprofessional during a HIDTA task force meeting. Dichio said he agreed with Dimmitt. Dimmitt testified that at the HIDTA meeting, Bohn had declared that if Darlene DeCaire (the plaintiff's former aunt by marriage) and Mark Lewis were not removed from the task force, he would leave. Dimmitt said that after this incident, he could have either officially written up Bohn's misconduct or simply attempted to remove Bohn from the situation, and he chose the latter. Another member of the HIDTA task force, Stephen Ridge of the Boston Police Department, testified that he was confused with respect to Bohn's removal from the task force because Bohn since his inception only grew the task force and... several months prior ... Marshal Dichio was at Boston Police headquarters to give Jeff Bohn an award. And shortly after that, ... things sort of changed. [The task force] just got better [under Bohn] and [Bohn] seem[ed] to be on the outs for some reason. Bohn testified that on June 11, 2003, he received telephone messages while at a training outside the office telling him that he had never been approved for the training and to report back to the office immediately. According to Bohn, when he returned to the office, Dimmitt admitted that Bohn had in fact sought pre-approval for the training; Dimmitt warned him that he was on probation and being watched, and said that things happened yesterday that contributed to [the way Bohn was being treated]. The parties stipulated that around this time, Dichio became aware of allegations regarding a conversation Dichio had with another HIDTA task force member, Joseph Cummings, in which Dichio allegedly said that DeCaire would not be advancing in the Marshals Service as long as he was in charge. Bohn also testified that during this conversation, Dimmitt warned him that Dichio told me to get you on your eye. Bohn had been experiencing problems relating to his eye, and these problems apparently were meant to be a basis to get Bohn. Bohn also stated that Dichio subsequently would administer me impromptu eye tests that he would make up on his own. At trial, Dimmitt denied making any of these statements during this conversation with Bohn. On October 3, 2003, Bohn and Paul Dunne were appointed Court Operations Supervisors, in which capacity they were in charge of the daily operations of the court and prisoners in Boston. Duties were divided between the two, and Bohn was responsible for the control room, among other things. Dichio testified that he authorized this move because Fallon had told him that Bohn has continued to improve and it's time for Jeff Bohn to take part in court operations where he would be assigned personnel. Because Bohn was in charge of the control room, he served as DeCaire's supervisor when she was assigned there in November. DeCaire was by then Bohn's wife. In December 2003, Bohn filed an OSHA complaint regarding conditions in the control room. He was almost immediately relieved from supervisory duties pertaining to the control room. Dave Taylor, who was now Bohn's supervisor, testified that he was unaware of the conflict created by having Bohn supervise the control room where Bohn's wife worked until Bohn filed the OSHA complaint, and he stated that this conflict was the reason that supervisory duties for the control room were removed from Bohn. At trial in June 2005, Dichio testified that he thought Bohn could be a great supervisor, and he noted that Bohn was inexperienced back then, he's learned a lot, and ... he's back in the warrant squad as supervisor.