Opinion ID: 778407
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: The September 11 Meeting: Accusation

Text: 19 At about 4 p.m. on September 11, 1996, Otero was summoned to a meeting with Craig. Otero was accompanied by her union representative, Joseph Carrafiello; and Mellow was present. There was substantial dispute at trial as to whether any other persons attended part of that meeting and as to what Otero was told. 20 Otero testified that Craig stated that it had been brought to his attention that Otero had used BHA property for [her] own personal use and that he had substantial evidence to back that up. (Trial Transcript dated December 13, 2000 (Dec. 13 Tr.), at 85-86.) Otero told Craig that she and Colon had indeed picked up the toilet from the warehouse, but she denied stealing it. When she told Craig she had not taken the toilet, he said he just didn't want to hear it. (Trial Transcript dated December 14, 2000 (Dec. 14 Tr.), at 84.) Otero tried to point out that just because she picked the toilet up from the warehouse did not mean she had stolen it. But Craig kept on saying, ... `[t]he meeting is over, the meeting is over.' (Dec. 14 Tr. at 85.) 21 Craig gave Otero until 10 a.m. on September 13 to prove that she did not steal the toilet or to resign. Craig said that in the absence of such proof or a resignation, Otero would be discharged. 22 Otero testified that other than saying that he had substantial evidence, in haec verba, Craig told her nothing of substance. She was not given copies of the written statements that Mellow had collected from Wells, Boyd, and Colon. She was not given a copy of Mellow's report. No one read to her any part of any of those documents. She was not given any documents at that meeting. She was not told that she would be presented with either the documents or the persons who had signed them at a later date. And no one other than Craig, Mellow, Otero, and Carrafiello attended the meeting. 23 In contrast, Mellow, called initially as a trial witness by Otero, testified that at the September 11 meeting, although he did not give Otero copies of the statements he had collected from the BHA employees, he read portions of those statements to her. In addition, Mellow testified that he called Colon and Boyd into the meeting to corroborate their written statements. Craig, called as a witness by the defense, similarly testified that Colon and Boyd had been called into the meeting and had described their recollections of what had happened to the toilet. Colon testified at trial that he had been called into the meeting; he said that he read his entire statement to Otero. Craig could not say that anyone had given a verbatim reading. 24 Otero left the September 11 meeting and tried to collect information in advance of the meeting scheduled for 10 a.m. on September 13. She looked for a copy of the requisition for the toilet and a copy of the work order requesting the toilet, but she was unable to find either document. She and Wells went to an apartment where they thought the purloined toilet might be, but they found only a different model. Otero testified that she tried to get information from Colon and Boyd, but that neither would answer her questions. She asked Colon what had happened to the toilet; he refused to respond, except to say that he had installed it but couldn't remember where. She spoke to Boyd-who she testified had originally asked her to requisition the toilet — and asked him for the number of the unit where he was supposed to have installed the toilet (Dec 13 Tr. at 107); Boyd said he knew nothing and walked away.