SPRINGFIELD-Attorney General Martha Coakleys Office has obtained a consent judgment against a Brimfield man accused of repeatedly harassing and intimidating co-workers at based on his Nazi beliefs. The judgment, entered earlier this month by Hampden Superior Court Judge Peter Velis, prohibits Marc Waite, age 31, from threatening, intimidating, or coercing employees at his former place of employment. Waite is also prohibited from communicating with the victims or victimsfamilies and from knowingly approaching within 500 feet of the business property or the victims homes. A violation of the court order constitutes a criminal offense.
Every person has the right to work in a safe environment without being targeted by intimidating and threatening conduct, said Attorney General Coakley. Protecting the public safety and enforcement of civil rights laws against those who engage in the type of disturbing behavior seen in this case is of paramount importance.
According to the complaint, filed in Hampden Superior Court on April 8, 2008,Waitetargeted and harassed employees of Palmer-based Rathbone Precision Metals (Rathbone) at the workplace, and in one instance, at an employees home. Waite was employed by Rathbone from April 2005 until he left his job in November 2005. Following his separation from the company, Waite is alleged to have engaged in a pattern of harassing and, at times, violent conduct directed at Rathbone and its employees. Waite, a self-proclaimed Nazi, has acknowledged being motivated to target Rathbone based of his belief that one of the Rathbone owners is Jewish and that the Rathbone employees did not subscribe to his Nazi beliefs. Among other acts alleged, Waite sent emails to Rathbone, one of which indicated that if the company contacted the police it would smash any chances for Nazi peace. The complaint further states that he trespassed onto Rathbone property, scattered swastikas in the Rathbone parking lot, and also called Rathbone and told one of its employees that All non-Nazi Germans must die. During one incident in November 2007,Waite is alleged to have entered Rathbone property during business hours wearing a hockey mask and spray-painted Nazi symbols on an American flag that hung from the Rathbone building.
The Commonwealth filed a lawsuit in April 2008 alleging that Waites conduct violated the Massachusetts Civil Rights Act (MCRA), which protects the rights of all residents and visitors to Massachusetts from interference with their civil rights by means of threats, coercion, or intimidation. Through the MCRA, the Attorney General is able to obtain broad civil rights injunctions against perpetrators of bias-motivated violence, harassment, or intimidation.
Todays judgment also prohibits Waite from:
- Threatening anyone because they might complain, testify or cooperate about acts alleged in the complaint;
- Communicating with anyone at Rathbone or encouraging anyone else to do so; and
- Damaging Rathbone property.
The Hampden County District Attorney’s Office prosecuted Waite on related criminal charges.
This matter was handled by Assistant Attorney General Laurie A. Frankl of Attorney General Coakleys Civil Rights Division and Western Massachusetts Regional Office.
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