CICERO, NY (CNY Central) — At the Cicero Town Hall, it’s not the town business that has the community buzzing, but instead allegations of sexual harassment against the Town Supervisor.
The town board met Wednesday night to talk about the allegations made against Supervisor Michael Aregano. The details were revealed in an affidavit by Natalie VanEpps. In it, she accuses Aregano of sexual harassment and other misconduct during her year-long stint as his secretary.
VanEpps was employed by the town from January to December 2022. She claims Aregano subjected her to repeated acts of sexual harassment, harassment and mistreatment. The complaint she filed calls on the town board to investigate him and Amy O’Mara who handled human resources for the town, saying she failed to protect her.
All four Cicero Town Board members say they believe Natalie VanEpp’s allegations against Aregano are credible and are calling on him to resign. For his part, Aregano denies the allegations, saying he isn’t going anywhere.
CNY Central sat down with a legal expert to find out if there’s an avenue to remove him. “It is really a question of this guy is corrupt, this guy is committing some kind of crime or something that really goes beyond just we don’t like the way he does things. That’s when the courts may step in,” said Jared Cook, Senior Counsel at Tully Rinckey.
Cook calls it an unusual situation, but he says there is a provision on the New York State Public Officers Law that deals with the removal of town officials. “Town officers can be removed only by an order of the court. It has to be an application made to the Supreme Court,” he said.
