John Falcicchio, a former top adviser to Washington, D.C., Mayor Muriel Bowser, made “unwanted sexual advances” to a female staffer, according to an independent investigation.
Falcicchio, 44, resigned 14 months ago after two female employees accused him of sexual harassment and attorneys for one of the women made her allegations public. The investigation conducted by the law firm Arnold & Porter has now found that a third woman did not file a sexual harassment complaint with the Mayor’s Office of Legal Counsel but that she ultimately left her job due to Falcicchio’s behavior, the Washington Post reported.
The report additionally found that with a fourth staffer, Falcicchio had a “consensual romantic relationship” that was “on and off, for an extended period of time.” The city’s sexual harassment policy “did not outright prohibit such relationships” between Falcicchio and his subordinates, but the city’s updated sexual harassment now prohibits those relationships.
There was “no dispositive evidence” that Falcicchio had “orchestrated the hiring or promotion of individuals based on his sexual attraction to them,” the report noted, nor did it find that he rewarded or retaliated against subordinates. At the same time, Falcicchio did reportedly “show favoritism” to certain staffers, which “contributed to workplace tension and caused interoffice disputes and grievances to erupt among his subordinates.”
Falcicchio was reportedly Bowser’s longest-serving political ally, though when she heard the allegations against him, she “appeared blindsided and disappointed” and “shocked,” according to the investigation.
The Washington Examiner reached out to the mayor’s office for comment.
The two women who accused Falcicchio of sexual harassment reached settlements with the city last week. While the city declined to detail the settlements due to “confidentiality provisions,” one of the women received a cash payment between $300,000 and $500,000, the outlet reported, citing a person with knowledge of the matter. Debra Katz and Kayla Morin, the attorneys for one of the women, are reportedly incredibly “disappointed and angry” that details of the confidential report were released.
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“The behavior and the secrecy around the release of the Inspector General report is disgusting,” the attorneys said. “It’s unacceptable that our clients have had to endure investigations for more than a year only to have a report leaked without any warning.”
The report also includes seven recommendations for enhancing safety nets to prevent sexual harassment from going unnoticed. This includes the city starting an “anonymous complaint hotline” through which government employees can make allegations.
