DATE: Friday, October 10, 1997              TAG: 9710100655

SECTION: LOCAL                   PAGE: B1   EDITION: FINAL 

SOURCE: BY JUNE ARNEY AND MATTHEW DOLAN, STAFF WRITERS 

DATELINE: CHESAPEAKE                        LENGTH:  115 lines

CHESAPEAKE FIRE CHIEF FACED SUSPENSION CITY MANAGER WROTE BOLAC OF PLAN AFTER ALLEGATIONS OF SEX HARASSMENT

Days before Fire Chief Michael L. Bolac announced his retirement, he received a letter telling him that the city manager intended to suspend him without pay for three allegations of sexually inappropriate behavior, city employees confirmed this week.

That letter, which referred to incidents of sexually inappropriate behavior by the chief, contrasted sharply with Bolac's resignation letter in which he denied harassing anyone.

Reached at his home Thursday night, Bolac again said the harassment charges were false.

``I have never harassed anyone,'' Bolac said. ``There's more to these incidents than you know about. . . . I think you have to look at the motivations of people bringing these charges.''

He said that under city policy, he could not discuss details of the investigation, although he would like to. ``I wish I could talk about this. It would heal some of this to talk about it,'' he said.

Bolac, 49, has been on sick leave since Friday and will retire, effective Nov. 1.

The city manager's letter that discussed disciplining Bolac was based on:

An August 1996 incident in which Bolac allegedly walked out of his office and approached a female secretary who was picking up paper clips from the floor, according to two city employees who declined to be identified for fear of retribution.

Bolac allegedly came within about two feet of the employee and thrust his hips toward her head, the sources said. As he did so, Bolac held out his hands as if he intended to grab her head, one source said. Bolac then made comments about her being in the ``perfect position,'' the sources said.

An October 1996 incident in which Bolac allegedly referred to a tall, heavyset equipment manufacturing representative, Dick Singer, as ``Big Dick Singer'' during a meeting to discuss specifications for new fire equipment.

Each time Bolac mentioned the equipment representative's name, he allegedly looked at a secretary and laughed, according to one city employee. The secretary is the same woman who was the alleged victim in the paper clip incident.

A March 1997 incident in which Bolac - while attending a graduation ceremony - allegedly made remarks of a sexual nature, according to city employees.

Citing confidentiality rules, acting City Manager Clarence V. Cuffee declined to provide a copy of the letter of intent to discipline.

Bolac said Thursday that the decision to leave the department was his choice.

``No one forced me to resign,'' he said. ``No one was going to fire me. But I felt like people were undermining me, and it was time to get out and do something else with the rest of my life.''

Bolac said he has received five death threats during his tenure with the department - one as recently as two weeks ago.

Both the August and October examples were part of an EEOC complaint filed in July that targeted Bolac, according to a city employee who would not be identified.

Bolac's retirement announcement a week ago came after The Virginian-Pilot reported on the EEOC complaint filed by a secretary in the city's fire administration office. The secretary alleged sexual harassment and a hostile work environment.

The EEOC complaint alleged that the victim ``was subjected to sexually offensive comments and lewd mannerisms'' continuously from 1994 and most recently on three separate dates - two in 1996 and one in 1997.

City officials confirmed that Bolac was under city and federal inquiries resulting from the harassment complaint.

In a letter announcing his retirement, Bolac described those sexual harassment allegations as ``the final straw'' leading to his resignation.

In that letter, he said, people who weigh his personality, character and professional record against discrimination and harassment know that he has not, and could not have, harassed anyone. ``Hold people accountable - yes; harass - no,'' he wrote.

The retiring chief has declined to discuss the EEOC complaint. But Bolac wrote a seven-page statement about his interactions with the secretary who filed the EEOC complaint. That statement, along with Bolac's resignation letter, was delivered to The Virginian-Pilot recently by an anonymous man who said that he was a friend of Bolac and that there are ``two sides to every story.''

In that statement, Bolac denied the secretary's allegations and claimed that the woman had made suggestive remarks and gestures in the workplace.

``I have never made any lewd remarks or sexual mannerisms or gestures to her,'' the statement said. ``It is my personal and professional opinion that (the woman) has filed this complaint in retaliation, with malice and in revenge for what she believes I and others have done to affect her career in this department.''

Bolac further states that he has never made lewd remarks or sexual gestures to ``anyone else in the work place.''

The woman who filed the complaint was disciplined in the past for an incident of alleged financial wrongdoing. She is not allowed to talk about the allegations, according to city policy.

Bolac's 11-year tenure was marred by accusations of insensitivity, racism, sexual harassment and personal responsibility for policies that contributed to the death of two firefighters last summer.

But even his critics agree that Bolac brought the fire department to a new level of professionalism by boosting physical fitness requirements for his 325 firefighters and emphasizing fire prevention.

In recent years, Bolac has reacted swiftly when confronted with sexual harassment complaints against other employees.

In one case of sexual harassment, Bolac moved to suspend a senior employee for at least 3 1/2 months, according to a June 1993 letter from Bolac.

He issued the punishment less than a month after he received the original complaint.

He also required the senior employee in that case to complete a sexual-harassment awareness course. ILLUSTRATION: Graphic

Color Photo

BOLAC SAYS: ``I have never harassed anyone. There's more to these

incidents than you know about. . . . I think you have to look at

the motivations of people bringing these charges.'' Michael L. Bolac

Chesapeake fire chief KEYWORDS: CHESAPEAKE FIRE DEPARTMENT RESIGNATION SUSPENSION

SEXUAL HARRASSMENT

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