Fusaro refutes report’s allegations

Luzerne County Election Board member Alyssa Fusaro tearfully broke down at the podium during Tuesday’s county council meeting, insisting there is no truth to accusations she used a racial slur or profanity against election bureau workers.

Six council members had halted a council vote on the removal of Fusaro from the unpaid election board seat last week, with some arguing the report did not include statements from all witnesses and that Fusaro was not afforded an opportunity to respond to specific allegations against her.

The report, obtained confidentially through a county council source on the condition of anonymity, includes allegations of harassment by Fusaro from two Hispanic/Latino female bureau employees — one full-time and one temporary.

Fusaro said at no time did she every make a racial slur — now or in the past. She said she cringes when she hears anyone use the f — word or a curseword starting with God, saying it “goes through me like chalk on a chalkboard.”

She asked if anyone considered how the “manufactured lies” would impact her son, who is Black and Hispanic. She said he regularly came home from school crying because of racial slurs, including the one used in the report.

Fusaro said she brought her pastor, friend, confidant and mentor, the Rev. Samuel Washington, pastor of Pittston’s Perspective Church, to the meeting to speak about her character if he desired. She said she calls him the “prophet” and said she makes it no secret she is a Christian woman — a kind and loving individual who respects and cares for everyone no matter the color of their skin.

Fusaro said she hopes everyone will “see through this disgusting attack on my character.”

Speaking later, Washington said the allegations against Fusaro are “ridiculous.” He has pastored her for more than 15 years and said she is a very involved member of his multicultural church.

He said her convictions are “very, very strong” and that it is not in her character to “do those things that were said.”

In closing, Fusaro said she never asked the workers if they were legally here and made it clear she was inquiring about whether they had taken an oath as part of their work in the election bureau.

Fusaro said she is “appalled this disgusting narrative of hate has entered into this county” and that county officials “entertained such nonsense.”

She said she is willing to answer any questions and asked council to perform a “proper and valid” investigation in which all witnesses present testimony instead of “running my name through the mud.”

Fusaro said she became aware of the investigation against her through rumors and then saw a Facebook post on a site that frequently “attacks” her stating she made racial slurs to someone in the bureau on Nov. 9, even though she had not received any notification of such a claim from the county as the subject of the investigation.

County Controller Walter Griffith also got choked up at the podium, saying Fusaro is a good friend and that he has “been there” as the subject of accusations.

“We need to be more careful with what we say — myself included — and what we do,” Griffith said.

Report details

Fusaro officially received a copy of the county law office investigation outlining claims against her Tuesday.

Six council members had halted a council vote on the removal of Fusaro last week, with some arguing the report did not include statements from all witnesses and that Fusaro was not afforded an opportunity to respond to specific allegations against her.

Council Chairwoman Kendra Radle sent Fusaro a copy of the report Tuesday morning, asking her to keep it confidential. Radle had emailed Fusaro Saturday evening inviting her to submit a written account of what happened on Nov. 9 while she was in and out of the election bureau. Fusaro had replied that she never received anything from the county stating why her removal had been placed on last week’s council agenda.

What are the accusations?

At least two copies of documents identified as the report were anonymously sent to the media Tuesday. To ensure these copies were authentic, the Times Leader agreed to provide anonymity to one of the 11 council members who received this report. Only the county law office, council and, now, Fusaro, have received copies of the report. Fusaro said she is not sharing it with anyone because Radle instructed her to keep it confidential.

The report focuses largely on what happened the day after the Nov. 8 general election, when Fusaro was removed from the election bureau.

Employees in the report are identified as numbered witnesses and not named.

According to the allegations made in the document:

The main witnesses are a full-time employee (witness 1) and a temporary employee (witness 2). Both are Hispanic/Latino females.

The full-timer alleged Fusaro had been “harassing” her and the temporary worker all morning, first when the two were working on the “black bags.”

As explained in the report, black bags are turned over to the bureau from judges of elections and contain poll books, written voter lists, tapes counting the number of votes cast on voting machines and other miscellaneous paperwork from the polls. The black bags are not supposed to contain any ballots.

The full-timer said Fusaro started going through the garbage and questioning her on the contents, and other office employees all agreed that what they threw away was fine.

This worker pointed out Fusaro did not go through the trash of other workers.

After the full-timer had finished with the bags and delivered them to purchasing, she said Fusaro started taking her photograph, stating that, “She’s one of them.”

The worker told them not to take any photos of her and covered her face. In reply, she said she was told to, “Shut the f— up,” but the report did not expressly state whether the worker alleged the profanity was voiced by Fusaro or a citizen who was with Fusaro in the hallway area outside the office at the time.

The full-timer said she returned to the election bureau and started crying. A notation said video surveillance footage shows the worker was “extremely distraught and sobbing” and was consoled by numerous election employees.

She also stated she is not comfortable with Fusaro and “the man in the gray jacket,” which the report identified as the citizen with Fusaro, and that she wants to press charges.

Witness 2, the temporary worker, repeated the details about Fusaro telling them what to do and not do and checking their garbage.

The temporary worker said Fusaro asked if it was legal for her to work her, and she replied, “Yeah, I’m legal.” She said she was offended by the question because she is Puerto Rican and does not need a passport to be in this country. (Editor’s note: Puerto Rico is a U.S. territory and its residents are U.S. citizens.)

She said said Fusaro left and came back a short time later asking if she and the full-time worker had been sworn in, asking Witness 2 for her name.

The temporary worker said she then heard Fusaro on the phone using a racial slur about her and the f— word.

She described Fusaro and the man in the gray sweatshirt taking pictures of the full-time worker and said she heard Fusaro “spewing the F word,” stating both Fusaro and the man told the full-timer to “shut the f— up.”

The temporary worker said she ignored Fusaro when she asked for her name. The worker acknowledged telling coworkers she herself would “bust her ass and ride her out of this building” over the alleged racial slur and other language.

Finally, the temporary worker said Fusaro had been “acting crazy” since the day before the election and maintained she heard Fusaro tell another temporary worker she doesn’t “have time to listen to your f—” mouth.”

Fusaro has repeatedly stressed she was under the impression both women were temporary workers and was concerned they were not acting under the personal supervision of a full-time worker.

The report clears this up, saying the county requires full-time employees to work with temporary employees after a past election in which a temporary worker discarded military ballots in error.

Fusaro also expressed worries about how election-related material was being discarded and employees not being sworn in.

Urban: No racial discussion heard

County Councilman Stephen J. Urban said Tuesday he was on the phone with Fusaro and advised her to ask if the workers had been sworn in since they were touching election materials.

Urban said he heard Fusaro ask the workers if they had been sworn in. He presumes he was the one on the phone with Fusaro when she was alleged to have uttered a racial slur and said that did not happen.

“There was no discussion of anything racial,” Urban said.

Urban said he did not want to violate confidentiality by discussing the report but questioned if workers asked if they were legally sworn in could have misconstrued that as a question about whether they were legal citizens.

He also said he did not hear Fusaro use profanity and added he is willing to provide a full statement about what he heard and provide call logs documenting the times.

Urban said the county should be requiring all workers to take an oath if they will be touching election materials.

The report states any employees participating in ballot processing and “touching any ‘votes’” are sworn in.

Prior county chief solicitor and acting county manager Romilda Crocamo, who no longer works for the county, had opted to swear everyone in to “put the issue to rest” amid frequent questions about requirements, the report said.

There was no mass swearing-in for the Nov. 8 general, though employees involved in ballot processing and touching votes were sworn in, the report said.

“There is absolutely no legal requirement that any employee who assists in whatever form be required to take an oath prior to setting foot in the Elections Bureau,” the report said.