Ex-employee files suit against St. Lawrence County

The former St. Lawrence County deputy budget officer is suing the county for allegedly having her job eliminated as retaliation for bringing a lawsuit against the Colton-Pierrepont Central School District.

The lawsuit filed Monday was brought by Colton resident Peggy L. Mousaw against the county, the county Legislature and county Administrator Karen M. St. Hilaire. She's seeking unspecified damages in U.S. District Court in Syracuse for defamation, retaliation, violating her free speech and being denied due process.

Ms. Mousaw was hired in June 2001 as the county's deputy budget officer, but endured several years of harassment, the lawsuit alleges. The lawsuit offers a timeline of the alleged harassment and retaliation she endured while working for the county. The county eliminated her position Feb. 4, 2008, but several positions later were created to cover Ms. Mousaw's work.

"If this was a legitimate reorganization and not retaliation against plaintiff, plaintiff should have been offered one of the newly created positions or the newly vacated position, but was not," the suit says. "In reality, the reorganization was just a subterfuge and ruse to harass and retaliate against plaintiff."

The lawsuit also claims county employees and legislators colluded with Colton-Pierrepont school board members to intimidate her into backing down from questioning district expenses and dropping a lawsuit she filed against the district.

Ms. Mousaw filed a federal lawsuit against the Colton-Pierrepont Central School District and school board in September 2007 for allegedly trumping up a sexual harassment claim against her. She was a Colton-Pierrepont school board member from 2003 to 2007.

That suit alleges that school board members and administrators retaliated against her probe into the handling of a construction project by orchestrating a campaign based on a false sexual harassment claim by a district employee. That suit is pending.

Ms. Mousaw declined comment Monday evening. She is the treasurer for the village of Lake Placid.

Attorney Stephen D. Ciotoli of the O'Hara, O'Connell and Ciotoli law firm in Fayetteville filed both lawsuits.