DUDLEY — A town official with a history of legal disputes was put on paid administrative leave, according to Town Administrator Jonathan Ruda.
The town’s Board of Health voted 3-0 on Wednesday to put Health Agent Patrick Hannon on leave, said Ruda.
It comes after a lawsuit filed last month in Worcester Superior Court by a local business that claims Hannon, the Dudley Board of Health and its three members — Jennifer Cournoyer, Heather Arnold and Roberta Johnson — took actions that hurt the business financially and damaged its reputation. Cournoyer no longer serves on the board.
The plaintiffs – Rampco French Joint Venture LLC, Rampco Construction Co. Inc. and Rampco founder Richard Androlewicz – claim all of Hannon's accusations are false, and they started after Hannon failed to enter into a business relationship with the company.
In addition, the lawsuit claims the board failed to properly supervise Hannon.
Efforts to reach Hannon and the board members for immediate comment were unsuccessful. Lawyer Courtney Mayo represents the board members and declined to comment, citing pending litigation.
Ruda declined to comment as the town conducts an internal investigation. The town had received complaints about Hannon since the town hired him in December 2023; he was subsequently appointed health agent by the health board in February 2024, said Ruda.
Ruda didn't recall the number of complaints and said he forwarded them to the health board.
A memo in May from the town's lawyer, Marc Terry, concluded Ruda and the Board of Selectmen have no authority over the hiring or firing of the town's health agent. That authority, said Terry, falls to the health board based on state law.
Hannon's history
Hannon has a history of lawsuits in several Massachusetts towns over a span of years. In some cases, the courts found him guilty and ordered him to pay hefty fines.
Rampco operates a soil reclamation business in Dudley, and the lawsuit claims Hannon failed to enter into a business relationship with Rampco in 2015 that concerned a soil business. That occurred years before Hannon was Dudley’s health agent.
Alleged misdeeds
Legal violations committed by Hannon, according to the lawsuit, include statements made during a 2016 town meeting in Uxbridge that Rampco was operating a property that contaminated Dudley’s water.
Hannon allegedly alerted the state Department of Environmental Protection in 2016 that Rampco’s contaminated soils were an environmental hazard and the company falsified documents.
The lawsuit also alleges Hannon used a stealth email account last year to alert the state and other parties that Rampco’s actions were contaminating the French River and Dudley’s drinking water.
As health agent, Hannon allegedly claimed a Rampco property released perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl chemicals, known as PFAS. The synthetic chemicals are the subject of a slew of health and environmental lawsuits nationwide.
Last year, the lawsuit contends, the health board voted to support Hannon’s request to post information from the state DEP on the town's website connected to alleged PFAS release at a Rampco property on Fish Road.
Hannon allegedly included information in the post about a property on Oxford Avenue previously owned by Rampco, a site unrelated to alleged PFAS release.
“Hannon’s attempt to include information pertaining to the Oxford Ave. site was in an attempt to hurt the business reputation of plaintiff RAMPCO,” the lawsuit said.
After the state DEP reported to the board in September about PFAS release in Dudley, the lawsuit claims, the health board posted a video of the presentation with a link that included the words “Fish Road” in the title.
That mischaracterized the presentation and harmed Rampco’s reputation, the lawsuit states, and the title was changed after the plaintiffs complained.
Hannon also allegedly contacted Connecticut officials to make false claims about commercial vehicles owned by Rampco.
Rampco is seeking compensation for lost profits resulting from delayed or canceled contracts due to alleged actions by Hannon and the board.
It also wants the court to permanently bar Hannon from investigating any Rampco operations and from making any statements and allegations about the business.
Contact Henry Schwan at [email protected]. Follow him on X: @henrytelegram.