MATTHEW SPOLAR
Concord Monitor

Recently dismissed Chichester fire chief Gilbert Vien and his wife, Joyce, have filed a lawsuit against the town and the interim fire chief, alleging their jobs were targeted because Vien raised concerns about the conduct of town officials.

The Viens' lawsuit, filed last week in Merrimack County Superior Court, seeks unspecified damages from the town of Chichester and interim fire Chief Alan Quimby for wrongful termination, intentional infliction of emotional distress and violation of the state's Whistleblowers' Protection Act.

Gilbert Vien took a leave of absence from the fire department in February and was later placed on administrative leave after successive complaints were filed against him by fire department employees. The complaints were forwarded to the county attorney's office, which cleared Vien in May of any criminal wrongdoing.

The county's investigation was then sent back to the town, which reviewed the findings to determine if Vien's actions had violated any of the town's personnel policies.

In a nonpublic meeting last month, the town's selectmen voted 2- 1 to dismiss Vien as the town's fire chief. Selectmen Richard DeBold and Michael Paveglio voted to dismiss Vien, while Chairman Jeffrey Jordan voted against the dismissal.

The reasons given for Vien's dismissal were not released by town officials. In the lawsuit Vien denies the alleged violations of town policies but does not list them. Neither the Viens nor their attorney returned calls for comment.

Instead, the lawsuit focuses on two instances where Vien challenged officials - including two current selectmen - on town- related matters. In the first, Vien accused previous fire chief Mike Paveglio, now a selectman, of including on a grant application for state-issued radios the names of people who were not "active or engaged" members of the fire department.

Vien said he expressed his concerns about the radios to Paveglio and Richard DeBold, also a selectman, but no action was taken by the town. The state Department of Justice has referred Vien's complaint to the Department of Safety's Grant Management Unit, according to the lawsuit.

The second instance allegedly occurred when Vien pointed out code violations at the newly renovated town safety building. Vien said he brought the matter to the attention of the board of selectmen and the town building inspector.

Paveglio had overseen the renovation project, according to the lawsuit. Shortly after Vien took his complaint about the code violations to the state fire marshal's office, the lawsuit states that he was placed on administrative leave.

The lawsuit indicates that Paveglio and DeBold should have recused themselves from voting on whether to dismiss Vien. Both selectmen deferred comment to the town's attorney about whether Vien's concerns about the radios and code violations led to his dismissal.

Bart Mayer, the town's attorney, said the selectmen thought the issues raised by Vien had been "put in the past." Mayer said the selectmen were "somewhat surprised" to find that Vien is still using them as a basis for challenging the board's decision.

"The long and short of it is that these two issues were dealt with and resolved and are of no consequence to the board of selectmen at this time," said Mayer, who has yet to see the lawsuit.

The lawsuit also includes allegations on behalf of Joyce Vien against interim fire Chief Alan Quimby, who was the deputy chief until Vien went on leave. In August, Quimby told Joyce Vien that her positions as fire department clerk and EMS coordinator were no longer needed and Deputy Chief Matt Cole was going to assume the duties of EMS coordinator, the lawsuit states.

Quimby has said the changes were part of a reorganization and had nothing to do with Joyce Vien's relationship to Gilbert Vien. The lawsuit calls the move an "illegal elimination" of Joyce Vien's positions in violation of the department's guidelines and in retaliation for Gilbert Vien's questioning of town officials about the state-issued radios.

Both Gilbert and Joyce Vien are suing for wrongful termination and intentional infliction of emotional distress. Gilbert Vien also alleges that the selectmen violated the Whistleblowers Protection Act for dismissing him following his complaints.

Gilbert Vien said he had assurances from the board of selectmen that he would be reinstated as fire chief if no criminal charges were filed against him by the county attorney's office.

But once he was cleared of criminal wrongdoing, the selectmen began their own investigation and eventually dismissed Vien. The lawsuit states the selectmen's investigation kept Vien in a "holding pattern" that "rises to the level of harassment."

The lawsuit also cites the fire department's manual issued in December 2007, which lays out a three-strikes policy for dismissing a member of the department. Vien never received the first two strikes - verbal and written warnings - before his hand-delivered letter of dismissal Aug. 20, according to the lawsuit.

While neither side in the dispute has provided a copy of the selectmen's letter explaining the reasons for Vien's dismissal, Mayer said he was surprised to learn from a reporter that the lawsuit did not mention any of the reasons given.

"The Board of Selectmen was very specific in the reasons for its decision and it appears that those reasons are not directly addressed in the appeal to the court," Mayer said.

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September 15, 2010