Marshal awarded $150,000
Jury found boss used retaliation
A federal jury in Boston awarded $150,000 to an assistant US marshal yesterday after concluding that Anthony Dichio, the former marshal for Massachusetts, retaliated against her at work because she filed a sex discrimination complaint against him.
The verdict in US District Court in Boston was the latest embarrassment for Dichio, who was fired by the Bush administration in 2005 from his $130,000-a-year job after the Globe documented his lax work habits and use of his government-owned vehicle for personal errands.
After about four hours of deliberations, the jury concluded that Dichio retaliated against Cynthia Bohn after she filed a complaint with the Marshals Service in January 2003 about being denied choice assignments and positions with investigative duties. The retaliation included refusing to let Bohn leave a unit that provides courthouse security in Boston for a more coveted position in the warrants unit and transferring her to the Worcester office in October 2003 with what her lawyer described as three hours' notice.
Bohn, 40, smiled broadly after the verdict, but said she could not comment because she is still employed by the Marshals Service. Her lawyer, Indira Talwani, of Boston, said the verdict was vindication for her client.
"Marshal Dichio retaliated against her," Talwani said. "He could not accept the notion that someone was challenging a decision he made."
Barbara Cottrell, an assistant US attorney from the Northern District of New York, praised the jury as conscientious, but declined to comment further. The New York office defended the Justice Department in the suit after US Attorney Michael J. Sullivan recused his office, which works closely with the marshals.
Dichio testified during the trial, which began June 16, but was not present when the jury delivered its verdict. He did not return a phone message left with his son yesterday evening.
The jury rejected Bohn's assertion that Dichio discriminated against her because of gender bias, but said he retaliated against her for her complaint.
It was the second time Bohn's case had gone to trial. In 2007, Judge William G. Young, after a nonjury trial, rejected assertions of gender bias and retaliation. In March, the US Court of Appeals for the First Circuit threw out that verdict, challenging his factual conclusions and saying that Young had misapplied the law.
Bohn began working for the Marshals Service 17 years ago. The marshals are responsible for protecting federal judges, juries, witnesses, and other court officials, as well as for capturing fugitives and transporting prisoners.
Bohn said in her complaint that she rose to become a decorated leader of the Warrants Investigations Unit, but that her career hit a roadblock when President Bush appointed Dichio to be marshal in August 2002.
His appointment was controversial, in part because Dichio lacked antiterrorism and management experience as the Marshals Service was being called on to play a larger role in homeland security. The state's two US senators and nine of its 10 US representatives opposed the appointment.
But Dichio had the strong backing of former governor Paul Cellucci, then US ambassador to Canada, and Acting Governor Jane Swift.
In her lawsuit, Bohn alleged that Dichio stripped her of investigative responsibilities because of gender bias and then blackballed her after she complained to the Equal Employment Opportunity counselor.
In October 2004, the Globe reported that during 10 days of surveillance by two reporters, Dichio often left work early and spent time doing errands near his Westford home.
Jonathan Saltzman can be reached at jsaltzman@globe.com. 