After three years, Judge William E. Smith, United States District Court, District of Rhode Island, dismissed all claims in a lawsuit brought by Maria Ursini that alleged, among other things, unlawful termination, defamation and malicious prosecution.

Initially filed on Sept. 3, 2019, the suit named as defendants the Town of Bristol, Lieutenant Steven St. Pierre, former police chief Josue D. Canario, the Bristol Police Department, and Town Administrator Steven Contente.

A case five years in the making
The legal conflict between the Town and Maria Ursini, longtime director of the Bristol Senior Center, goes back to 2017, when Contente cut Ursini’s salary in half, saying she was “double dipping” by taking salary from two substance abuse prevention grants in addition to her Town-funded salary for her work at the Senior Center.

“Grant funds are supposed to supplant salary, not supplement it,” Contente said at the time. “How can you hold down two full-time jobs?”

Ursini objected to that assessment, saying at the time that the accusations caught her by surprise because Contente’s predecessor, Tony Teixeira, approved the duties and income that came with the grants.

“I absolutely was not (double dipping),” Ursini said. “I didn’t do work for the grant while I was doing my work for the senior center.”

However, when the Bristol Police reviewed time sheets provided to them by Ursini, they identified numerous times that she attended meetings and conducted Substance Abuse Prevention Coalition business during senior center working hours.

Though Ursini accepted the $20,000 reduction in salary, she was ultimately charged with embezzlement, obtaining money under false pretenses and filing a false document with a public official. In December 2017, the first two felony charges were dropped in exchange for Ursini accepting the lesser misdemeanor charge, allowing her not to admit guilt, but to pay the Town of Bristol restitution of $693.43 and accept a one-year probation, after which the charge was expunged from her record. In July of 2018, Ursini returned to her post at the Senior Center.

A defamation suit, and its resolution
Fourteen months later Ursini filed a claim against the Town of Bristol seeking lost wages, lost benefits, lost pension benefits, compensatory damages and an unspecified amount of punitive damages, as well as attorney fees.

The suit claimed Wrongful Termination/Tortious Interference on the basis of the fact that the Town of Bristol was never Ms. Ursini’s employer (though the Town provides funding for her salary, she is employed by the Benjamin Church Senior Center Board) and Mr. Contente had no right to terminate her employment. However, the Judge determined that without an employment contract, no reasonable jury could find that Plaintiff was not an at-will employee. And without an express or implied employment contract, there can be no tortious interference with contract or wrongful termination, under law.

The suit claimed Malicious Prosecution, asserting that the Bristol Police Department never provided evidence of wrongdoing, but the Judge determined that the Department had probable cause to arrest and initiate criminal proceedings, and the burden was on Ursini to prove the absence of probable cause.

The suit claims that Town officials gave statements and releases to the news media in an attempt to “defame, embarrass and annoy” Ms. Ursini. The Judge determined that, as a public official, an actual malice standard applies; he concluded that no reasonable jury could conclude by clear and convincing evidence that Defendants acted with actual malice.

The suit claims that the Town engaged in Intentional Infliction of Emotional Distress; the Judge determined that no reasonable jury could conclude that Defendants’ conduct was extreme and outrageous.

"We are pleased with the decision by Judge Smith that puts to rest all allegations claimed in this lawsuit against town officials,” said Contente. "As always, my administration will continue to seek accountability and transparency in the best interest of the Town. That is my pledge and promise to the taxpayers of Bristol."

“While this wasn’t the outcome we had hoped for, the Court has spoken,” said Ursini when reached for comment. “We will take some time to consider our options. Unfortunately, the law does not always protect us from others.”

With reports from Scott Pickering