Investigator: Pires drafted Dewey employee complaint

The investigation into charges against Dewey Beach Town Manager has turned up information Mayor Dale Cooke calls troubling about Dewey Beach Police Chief Sam Mackert.

In an executive session held to discuss the report, investigator Max Walton revealed to Dewey commissioners that police Chief Sam Mackert asked town businessman and attorney Alex Pires to draft the 11-page complaint that started the summer-long drama.

“It has a bad smell,” said Dewey Beach Mayor Dale Cooke. “It’s a bothersome situation.”

Cooke said the Wilmington-based Walton gave commissioners findings during a Sept. 13 oral report. The commissioners had scheduled three executive sessions to discuss the report, Sept. 13, Sept. 14 and Friday, Sept. 15.

Cooke said commissioners were told Mackert first said an attorney wrote the complaint. The commissioners were told that Walton pressed Mackert as to which attorney wrote the letter and Mackert identified Pires.

Cooke, who is running for re-election as a commissioner in the Saturday, Sept. 16 election, said he doesn’t think the relationship between the police and Pires is illegal, but he said it just doesn’t pass the smell test.

In a prepared statement from Cooke and Commissioner Diane Hanson, town officials said Walton does not recommend suspension or termination of Applebaum. The investigator concluded the town manager has, on various occasions, failed to meet expectations of decorum and behavior, and he recommends a written reprimand and certain other measures, the statement said.

“You can expect town council in the days and weeks ahead to address fully all of the issues raised by the report,” said the statement. “In the meantime, we call upon Mr. Pires, [the attorney representing the employees, Rick] Cross and the complaining town employees to disclose more about the relationship between Mr. Pires and the claims made against the town manager.”

In a separate statement, Hanson, who is also running for re-election Sept. 16, said, in part, “Police should be independent from the establishments they regulate, so It is very disconcerting that our police are working with an individual who owns many bar/restaurants in this town.”

The revelation by Walton to the commissioners adds another twist to the ongoing saga that began June 14 with a 42-complaint document from a group of town employees that included Mackert, beach patrol Capt. Todd Fritchman, building inspector Bill Mears and nine members of the Dewey Police Department. The employees charged that Appelbaum engaged in sexual harassment, offensive language, misuse of town funds, racial discrimination and jeopardizing public safety.

Cross took the complaints to the next level by filing a June 29 complaint with Delaware’s Public Integrity Commission.

Cross also filed a filed a lawsuit July 13 in Chancery Court seeking an emergency injunction to stop Appelbaum’s interference with the operations of the police department, beach patrol, building inspector and Alderman Court. The lawsuit was withdrawn a month later without prejudice, meaning it can be refiled at any time.

In between the filing and then withdrawal of the lawsuit, Cross publicly questioned Walton’s impartiality because of a prior working relationship with the town.

In late August, and despite instructions to preserve documents from the Delaware State Public Integrity Commision, Dewey Beach employees allowed certain town documents to be shredded.

All of this happened before the Cape Gazette learned Sept. 6 that police Sgt. Cliff Dempsey’s police-issued gun and two loaded magazines were stolen from his police car April 15 – shortly before the first complaint was written. The gun and magazines have not been recovered.

Cooke said involving a town businessman in police business is a bigger issue than the commissioners or Appelbaum.

Cross had a different take on the investigator’s report than Cooke and Hanson. Walton found Appelbaum engaged in repeated acts of sexual harassment, racial slurs, improper conduct, lewd and vulgar comments, he said.

“When you look back at the accusations, he has now confirmed most of the serious charges against Appelbaum,” wrote Cross in an email. “It is apparent that this conduct was repeated, chronic, open and obvious. The town council has turned a blind eye to it for years. Any suggestion that all Mr. Appelbaum needs is some sensitivity training and a reprimand is outrageous and if more is not done to protect my clients, they will continue to pursue their rights through the Public Integrity Commission and the Courts.”

Cross said the statements released by Cooke and Hanson ignore the factual findings and attempt to spin this into a victory lap.

“Nothing is farther from the truth,” he said. “The town council should be protecting the men and women working at the town as well as the citizens of Dewey Beach.” 

“In the future, we’ll be gone, but there will be stories for years to come because of this relationship,” said Cooke. “It will taint what people think of [the police department] for years. We have to keep our police above the fray.”

Cooke said Sept. 14 commissioners had not yet received the written report. He said the executive sessions were still scheduled, but commissioners had decided not to meet again until they had the report in their hands.

Attempts to reach Pires and Mackert were unsuccessful.

Appelbaum complainants at 20

Former Commissioner Gary Mauler became the 20th person to write a complaint against Appelbaum. He released Sept. 12 a 4-page letter he wrote Sept. 1 to Walton.

In the letter, Mauler supports many of the accusations made by town employees against Appelbaum. He describes Appelbaum as an out-of-control town manager.

“The entire structure of the town government has been turned around by Mr. Appelbaum to the point that he views himself as answering to no one — not even the commissioners,” writes Mauler in the letter. “He has created a toxic environment that only seems to have grown worse over the four years that I served as a commissioner.”

When asked why he decided to make a letter written two weeks ago public in the days before the election, Mauler said, “Hope you are having fun in Dewey!” He did not respond to follow-up questioning.

Cooke said Mauler can do anything he pleases.

“It would be ridiculous to address this letter,” Cooke said.

Editor’s note: This story has been updated with comments from attorney Rick Cross.