By Jeff Horvath
The Times-Tribune, Scranton, Pa.
SCRANTON, Pa. — The parties to a former Lackawanna County deputy prison warden’s federal lawsuit alleging she was fired because she’s gay and in retaliation for reporting discriminatory conduct agreed to settle the suit, county General Counsel Christopher Caputo confirmed.
Former Deputy Warden for Treatment Krista Purvis sued the county and county prison in late 2022, alleging she was fired earlier that year after she complained that Warden Tim Betti was biased against women and made disparaging comments about her sexuality.
The suit alleged a pattern of misogynistic and homophobic comments by Betti and other county employees, with Purvis claiming she was subjected to undue scrutiny that ultimately led to her firing in June 2022 based on an “absurd” allegation she helped an inmate obtain contraband.
The parties agreed in early 2023 to remove the prison as a defendant, with the suit against the county proceeding thereafter in federal court.
Caputo confirmed Wednesday that the parties are settling the suit but declined to discuss the terms of the settlement, noting he’s “waiting for them to be approved by the court and finalized.”
“I know since it involves … a governmental entity that there will be certain disclosures made, I just don’t know what the parameters of that are just yet,” he said.
Caputo also noted the decision to settle the suit was made with the approval of and informed by input from the county’s insurance carrier, which will largely cover the cost of the settlement.
An order signed Jan. 15 by U.S. District Judge Karoline Mehalchick noted the court was advised “the matter has settled” and directed the parties to submit an “appropriate dismissal filing.”
The online court docket also includes a stipulation of dismissal, filed early Wednesday and signed by attorneys for Purvis and the county, noting “all parties stipulate and agree that this matter is settled, discontinued, and dismissed with prejudice.”
The latter document did not bear Mehalchick’s signature as of Wednesday.
Efforts to reach Purvis and her attorney, Christine E. Burke, were not immediately successful, nor were efforts to reach county Solicitor Paul James Walker and attorney Dana M. Zlotucha, whom the stipulation of dismissal lists as counsel for the county.
Purvis started working for the county in May 2017 as a social worker in the public defender’s office. She took a job as a prison guard with the rank of lieutenant in February 2020 and was promoted twice thereafter, with the county commissioners ultimately naming her deputy warden for treatment in August 2020.
Her suit claimed she was fired in 2022 in retaliation for raising numerous concerns of “gender and sexual orientation discrimination.” Among other claims, Purvis alleged Betti, the warden, was so intent on getting her fired that he falsely accused her of having a sexual relationship with a female prison nurse and once drove to a local hotel under the mistaken belief that she and the woman were there together.
Betti “elected to scrutinize, target and question (Purvis) because she is a lesbian female,” per the suit, which didn’t name the warden as a defendant. She accused Betti, a former county human resources director and “other (unnamed) high-level management” of making “numerous discriminatory comments about women, LGBTQ individuals and transgender inmates.”
Purvis was placed on administrative leave in March 2022, months before her June firing, after prison officials accused her of helping inmate Steven Wong obtain a crucifix necklace and wedding band that were mailed to the prison addressed to Purvis. According to her suit, the county accused Purvis of showing favoritism toward an inmate and maintains she was fired for violating prison policy and refusing to cooperate in an investigation into the case.
An attorney for the county, Zlotucha, acknowledged in court papers filed in early 2023 that prison officials had investigated claims that Purvis and the female nurse had a sexual relationship, but said the investigation had no bearing on her firing.
That 2023 filing also denied that Betti or other county employees “made any inappropriate gender and/or sexual orientation-related comments at any time,” rejecting claims that the county engaged in discriminatory treatment of Purvis and that a hostile work environment existed. Purvis herself was disciplined in October 2021 for making a “derogatory sexual comment about two locally elected public officials” during a prison shift commander meeting, it claimed.
Regarding the Wong investigation, prison policy forbids any employee from receiving and delivering any property to an inmate, the county’s filing notes. It also accused Purvis of refusing to cooperate when questioned about the incident and of being insubordinate.
Purvis’ suit argued she was fired for a “completely absurd, made-up, and nonsensical reason” after trying to correct institutional bias and discrimination.
“The pretextual rationale was so absurd, Defendant had to compound the excuse with feigned claims that Plaintiff wasn’t cooperative,” per the suit.
The Purvis controversy also led to problems for then-Democratic Commissioner Debi Domenick, who came under fire in July 2022 after then-District Attorney Mark Powell accused her of accessing emails related to his office’s investigation of the Wong incident. A court action initiated by Powell was later resolved after Domenick agreed not to access further emails.
Domenick, elected in 2019, did not seek reelection as commissioner in 2023.
Were it not for the settlement, jury selection and trial in Purvis’ civil suit were scheduled to begin March 16.
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