Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: SATURDAY, June 11, 1994                   TAG: 9406170125
SECTION: VIRGINIA                    PAGE: C-1   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: By KATHY LOAN STAFF WRITER
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium

BIAS SUIT DROPPED BY JUDGE

Vito P. Grimaldi filed suit two years ago, alleging he had been unfairly passed over for promotions and made the target of racist remarks because of his Italian heritage.

But U.S. District Judge James Turk granted a motion by the town, Police Chief Ron Lemons and Lt. James Epperly to have the lawsuit dismissed.

According to Turk, Grimaldi "has presented no evidence that his national origin played any part in his not being promoted."

Grimaldi and another officer who filed suit, Willis Ornes, were given 30 days in September 1992 to refile their suit at no additional cost after Turk ruled it was not filed properly.

Ornes, who is of Puerto Rican descent, did not refile. Grimaldi elected to file a new action six months later at additional cost.

Grimaldi, who had been with the department since 1984 and is in his mid-30s, was born in the United States, but his grandparents were born in Italy.

He claimed that twice in 1991 he was denied a promotion to sergeant and that in May 1992 he was denied the opportunity to apply for sergeant.

But in depositions, Grimaldi said he did apply for the sergeant's position. He resigned in December 1992, before the position was filled, and moved to Florida.

Grimaldi offered no corroborating evidence that the town attempted to keep the position from him and failed to establish a case of discrimination on the basis of national origin, Turk wrote.

Grimaldi had alleged that Epperly told him he was a minority because of his national origin and asked him how to spell his name, if he was born in the United States and if he had ever visited Italy.

Grimaldi also said others in the department called him derogatory names as a slur to his heritage.

Turk ruled none of Epperly's statements contained racial or ethnic remarks.

"At the very best, plaintiff's evidence indicates an awareness on the part of one individual defendant that [Grimaldi] was of Italian descent," Turk wrote.

Turk said the town had "legitimate, nondiscriminatory reasons" for not promoting Grimaldi.

The town argued that during an August 1991 panel interview for the sergeant's position, Grimaldi referred to his education but "was unable to provide an example of how his academic training had contributed to his current employment" or how it would help him in the role of sergeant, according to court documents.

Turk accepted the town's argument that Grimaldi could not explain the importance of his education, was not involved in community activities as required for promotion and made false statements during the interview regarding paying for all of his education on his own time and expense.

Ornes, the other officer who filed suit, resigned from the department after being charged in Pulaski with sexual assault and malicious wounding.

Ornes was sentenced earlier this year to 30 years in prison after pleading no contest to two charges of raping a 10-year-old girl. Five counts of attempted rape of the girl and one charge of attempted malicious wounding of a woman were not prosecuted.