The Millennial former mayor of Southampton Village is accused of being a bully who tried to poach his secretary for political gain, a shocking new lawsuit has revealed.
Jesse Warren — the owner of a luxury boutique in an elite enclave who previously made headlines after he was forced out of his home by a political opponent — is now facing an explosive claim from former employee Miranda Weber. facing.
“Mr. Warren regularly had emotional outbursts, made inappropriate and sexist comments, and invaded Mr. Weber’s personal life,” the suit, filed late last month in Suffolk County Supreme Court, says. It is written.
Warren, who was the town’s youngest mayor at the baby-faced 36-year-old when he was elected in 2019, has harassed and discriminated against Weber, including asking her to work while sitting in shiva for her beloved grandmother. , the filing states, is suspected of retaliation.
He also tried to force Weber, who was in his mid-20s at the time, “to enter into a quid pro quo relationship with the trustee for political expediency.” He tried to force her to make excuses, such as that she had contracted the coronavirus, to get away with his excuses. The lawsuit claims to be moving forward.
Former Southampton Mayor Jesse Warren is accused of “insidious harassment, discrimination and retaliation” by his former secretary in a new lawsuit. Doug Kuntz
According to court documents, Warren even “threatened to withhold promotions and raises unless he met various demands.”
And when Weber resigns in 2022, after enduring a year and a half of “insidious harassment, discrimination and retaliation” from his bosses, he will be paid at least $40,000 in overtime pay, and possibly $90,000. also refused to pay. According to the complaint, work weeks frequently exceeded 50 hours.
Warren, 39, who made headlines last year after the former mayor bought the building where he lived and moved to evict him, declined to comment.
The millennial executive is familiar with the allegations because he leaked a confidential letter to the press last year when Weber tried to settle a lawsuit privately, but according to local reports. The move has been criticized by village officials as putting taxpayers at risk.
Miranda Weber said she was forced to step down from her role in 2022 “to protect my own physical and mental health and safety.” Patrick McMullan, via Getty Images
Warren was ousted in the village mayor’s election that summer by a former vice presidential candidate. Since losing his bid for re-election, he has dipped his toe into local politics, seeking big pay raises and patronage jobs from the New Village government, in addition to facing charges of violating the federal Clean Water Act.
Ms. Weber’s lawsuit also names the Village of Southampton, a small municipality on Long Island’s East End that covers about six square miles, and says its trustees and other officials have done enough to prevent her abuse. They are criticizing the government for not taking appropriate measures.
Current Mayor Bill Munger told the Post that Southampton village trustees are “concerned” about the lawsuit, but declined to comment further.
The lawsuit alleges that the former mayor fostered “discriminatory hostility toward female employees,” and that Weber’s unusually coercive behavior toward the former mayor, including low wages and intrusions on her private life, was a threat to men in her workplace. claims that it was not shared.
According to the complaint, Warren made unusual claims about her schedule and time, including sending work-related emails while mourning her late grandmother.
Her complaint says that when Mr. Weber was called for jury duty, he sometimes became “agitated.”
Weber also accused Warren of pressuring her to have an affair with Village Trustee Joseph McLaughlin because Warren’s vote was clearly important to her getting a raise, the complaint said. states.
But the mayor at the time actually supported McLaughlin’s vote on a key police chief contract, the complaint alleges.
Warren repeatedly “ordered” her secretary to meet with McLaughlin in 2021, “told Ms. Weber that Trustee McLaughlin really likes women, especially young women,” and told a young secretary that “Trustee McLaughlin really likes women, especially young women.” “He likes her,” he said repeatedly.
The insidious nature of social pressure is such that “[Warren]instructed[Weber]to ask the trustees about the contract with the police chief and emphasized that it was important to ‘us'” and that the trustees It came to light when she asked to “check in” with people. About every few days.
“(Warren) forced Ms. Weber to meet with her harasser as an express condition of a raise and refused to protect her from sexual harassment,” the complaint says.
In conversations with Mr. Weber and Mr. McLoughlin (who is not named as a defendant in the suit and did not respond to multiple requests for comment), “he commented that she worked too much and that she sometimes went out for drinks. I suggested that we go.”
Displeased with his progress, Weber made up excuses like how “bad” the coronavirus was and rushed home.
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On another occasion, when Weber was asked to discuss a pending raise with McLoughlin, his response was that they should discuss it further over drinks or at a steakhouse.
Weber was “shocked and uncomfortable” that the trustee asked her out again and tried to end the conversation by mentioning that she was a vegetarian.
“His response was to redouble his invitation and suggest that we order sushi,” the lawsuit states.
A year later, when Mr. Weber’s raise (in the form of an $8,000 annual stipend) was finally up for a vote, McLoughlin claimed he had never heard anything in disbelief and said, “I don’t think there is any injustice in the stipend.” He publicly suggested that there was a problem with this, and voted against the raise. condition of the suit.
Weber broke down in tears when no one criticized McLoughlin for discussing personnel issues at the council meeting, her lawsuit alleges.
A month later, she resigned.
A Southampton resident described the allegations against McLoughlin as “laughable”.
Warren was also sued by a former town administrator who accused the young mayor of fostering a toxic and discriminatory office environment. The lawsuit was quickly dismissed.
“He’s a good guy. He’s disabled,” the source said, referring to the fact that McLoughlin, who was recently punished for ethics violations related to the police badge of honor, has lived with cerebral palsy all his life. he said.
Other village insiders, who requested anonymity for fear of retaliation in the small town, also questioned other allegations in the lawsuit.
One resident said, “You can stop bashing the former mayor.” “Everyone needs to move on.”
Many of Weber’s claims are echoed in a quickly dismissed lawsuit filed in 2023 by former village administrator Charlene Kagel Betts, which calls out Warren’s bully tactics against Weber. He claimed to have witnessed it, but remained anonymous in the lawsuit.
Kagelbetz, who retired in February, accused Warren of “destructive” behavior in a damning letter that also accused her of being mentally unstable and a “pathological liar.”
Weber did not respond to messages left on his cell phone. Her attorney declined to comment on the lawsuit or explain why the complaint lacks a signed affidavit or evidence or why it has not yet been served on the defendants.
