The bitter battle between former Dover town administrator BettyLou DeCroce and Mayor James Dodd escalated this week after DeCroce filed a whistleblower lawsuit alleging defamation and wrongful termination over her firing in May.
The suit, filed in state Superior Court on Christmas Eve, follows a tort claim filed in June in which the former state assemblywoman announced her intention to seek $15 million for back pay, contractual obligations and punitive damages. The current filing seeks a jury trial in civil court.
The dispute, according to DeCroce, stems in part from her refusal to carry through with Dodd's order to discipline Police Chief Jonathan Delaney, a directive she said was illegal. According to DeCroce's complaint, the mayor subsequently criticized her performance in statements that were "spread far and wide in the press and on social media," damaging her reputation and "holding her up to ridicule and scorn in the region."
As a result, DeCroce's "protections under the law have been eviscerated," resulting in financial losses and physical and emotional stress.
Dodd responded to the lawsuit by doubling down on his critique of DeCroce's 15 months as town administrator, which he described during a May council meeting as "extremely poor." On Wednesday, the Democrat said the former administrator's litigation was "filled with lies and distortions."
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