Two Florida EMS Officials Terminated

Dan Moynihan, chief of Leon County's Emergency Medical Services, and Maj. Michael DeSouza, a public-information officer, have been fired in the wake of sexual-harassment allegations by a female employee.

On Wednesday, County Administrator Parwez Alam asked Moynihan and DeSouza to resign or face termination after a county investigation into the harassment complaint found that DeSouza engaged in inappropriate comments and behavior.

The investigation also found that Moynihan fostered a work environment where off-color jokes, teasing and innuendo were common occurrences.

"It is my determination that at this point it would be better for the EMS system and the county organization that Dan is not employed by the county," Alam said after meeting with ambulance personnel Wednesday.

Both men were fired by the end of the day and were expected to turn in their county vehicles and equipment. DeSouza, who coordinated EMS educational programs, could not be reached for comment. Moynihan, meanwhile, filed his own complaint against the county with the Florida Commission on Human Relations.

The shake-up at the county's EMS division was sparked by a Feb. 9 complaint by paramedic Aimee Moore. Moore told county staff that DeSouza, 45, had been harassing her since she started working with the county and "trying to get her to sleep with him," according to the investigative report.

In a separate memo prepared by county Human Resources Director Lillian Bennett, several EMS employees interviewed by county staff also suggested that Moynihan, 45, was engaged in an inappropriately close relationship with a female subordinate.

The memo characterized the relationship as "unusual" but went no further. Both Moynihan and the woman denied the relationship was romantic. Bennett has recommended that the female employee be transferred to another location.

The county report concluded that DeSouza engaged in behaviors that were pervasive, such as inappropriate language, touching, joking and invasion of personal space. It said such behavior effectively created a "hostile, intimidating and adverse work environment" for Moore.

"Maj. DeSouza utilized his position as field operations supervisor to posture himself to work alone with the complainant, use his influence to recommend promotion of the complainant to the field training officer program ahead of more qualified employees, and encouraged the complainant to accept a different shift when there was no business necessity to do so," the report states.

"Chief Moynihan was aware of some of the inappropriate language and did not take prudent and/or appropriate action(s) to address the behavior," the report continued.

The former EMS chief declined to comment and referred questions to his attorney, Marie Mattox, who denied any wrongdoing on Moynihan's part. Mattox said the county is retaliating against Moynihan for filing a whistle-blower complaint against Senior Assistant County Attorney Patrick Kinni.

Moynihan, in his complaint with FCHR, alleged Kinni pressured him to hire Kinni's wife for a position at EMS and to buy Kinni's home in Killearn. Mattox said the county suspended Moynihan on Feb. 17, two hours after he wrote a letter to Alam detailing the allegations against Kinni.

"That is why we believe he was fired," Mattox said. "This was all contrived after they received their whistle-blower disclosures."

County Attorney Herb Thiele said he has asked Kinni to respond in writing to Moynihan's allegations. Kinni declined to comment because of the FCHR investigation.

Both Moynihan and DeSouza were hired in late 2003 as the county was beginning to take over ambulance service from Tallahassee Memorial Hospital. Moynihan, who earned $84,800 a year, was credited with helping devise the current ambulance system, which uses roving ambulances instead of fixed posts. DeSouza earned $55,300 a year.

Moore, the paramedic, detailed 32 allegations involving DeSouza; the investigative report substantiated or partially substantiated 26 of them.