43
Youngstown officials say they will no longer seek the services of a demolition contractor they say called a city employee a racial slur
YOUNGSTOWN
The city will no longer seek the services of a demolition contractor because of his repeated verbal abuse of city employees, including using the N-word to a black worker, Youngstown officials say.
They also requested he stay out of city hall.
The contractor, William Pizzuto of All Excavating on Waverly Avenue, insists he never used the racial slur but said he is frustrated with what he described as inefficient city operations in which no one answers the telephone and he continually gets the runaround when trying to get demolition permits.
In an undated email to her boss – which city officials said was sent Feb. 16 or 17 – Michelle Weaver, a black assistant secretary with the housing code enforcement department, wrote that Pizzuto “left me a message that called me [the N-word] and said that I can’t even answer the phone. I am very upset and would like this problem to be addressed.”
Weaver also wrote that Pizzuto “continuously chooses to be rude and ignorant to me and others in the office.”
Pizzuto said he met Tuesday with Mayor John A. McNally to discuss the issue, and the mayor told him to stop his inappropriate behavior. Pizzuto said he never used the slur.
Law Director Martin Hume said Nicole M. Alexander, senior assistant law director, said there was “no doubt it was” Pizzuto on the voice mail. McNally said he also heard the voice mail and it’s definitely Pizzuto.
In a certified letter mailed Tuesday, Alexander wrote Pizzuto that he has “treated several city employees in a disrespectful manner. Specifically, it is alleged that you have repeatedly hung up on city staff, raised your voice to them, called them names, and otherwise accosted them. Most troubling was the derogatory message, including an offensive racial slur, which you left on the code enforcement secretary’s voice mail. This behavior is inappropriate and unacceptable.”
“This is not an isolated incident of rude and unruly behavior,” Hume added. “But he’s never used a racial slur before.”
The letter also states: “We will not be seeking your services on any future city projects. We understand that you may need to pull permits for noncity projects, and we request that whenever possible, you send an associate in your place.”
Also, if there are any more complaints about Pizzuto, he will be “prohibited from visiting the code enforcement and demolition department indefinitely, and any future permits for All Excavating or any company in which you have a majority interest may be refused,” Alexander wrote.
Pizzuto said he hasn’t seen the letter, which Hume said was delivered Thursday but returned because Pizzuto wasn’t there to sign for it. A Vindicator reporter read the letter to Pizzuto on Friday.
When the city is in need of emergency demolition work, it will not contact Pizzuto, Hume and McNally said.
The city is likely unable to do anything to refuse proposals from All Excavating but may look into the “best” provision of “lowest and best bid” for contracts, Hume and McNally said.
“His conduct could play a factor in ‘best,’” Hume said. “I’m not saying he couldn’t submit a bid, but in emergency nonbid situations, the city won’t be using his services.”
Pizzuto said the city’s code enforcement and demolition offices are poorly run.
“It’s a real joke down there,” he said. “You ring the phone and no one ever calls back. My secretary went down there and was told, ‘You’re in the wrong department. We can’t issue permits without contracts,’ even though we have them.”
Pizzuto said he believed the issue was resolved Tuesday.
“I don’t know what’s going on,” he said.
McNally said he didn’t hear the voice mail until after his Tuesday meeting with Pizzuto and hasn’t contacted the contractor since. He wanted the city’s letter to speak for itself.