Ex-aide to Josh Shapiro allegedly invoked Pennsylvania governor’s name in threat that left woman ‘weeping’

A one-time aide to Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro left a girl “weeping and in shock” after threatening her on a telephone name in 2018, in accordance with an e-mail the lady despatched to state lawmakers in 2023, 5 years after the alleged dialog.

The previous aide, Mike Vereb, allegedly invoked Shapiro’s identify on the decision, telling the lady that “by the point he and Josh have been completed with me, I’d be worse than nothing,” mentioned the lady, who requested that her identify not be revealed, in an interview with ABC Information.

“You’re going to proceed to be nothing by the point Josh and I get completed with you,” the lady quoted Vereb as saying, telling ABC Information that she was left “shaken” by the way in which through which Vereb “freely” referenced others in energy.

“Clearly a part of what left me shaken was not simply Mr. Vereb’s aggressive and unrelenting tone, however how freely he made it appear he was talking past himself,” she mentioned.

Information of the alleged 2018 incident, which has not been beforehand reported, comes as Shapiro emerges as a number one contender to change into Vice President Kamala Harris’ presidential working mate on the Democratic ticket.

There is no such thing as a proof that Shapiro, who was on the time Pennsylvania’s state legal professional common, was conscious of Vereb’s allegedly threatening name.

The 2018 incident marks the second allegation of wrongdoing in opposition to Vereb — who was as soon as one in every of Shapiro’s closest aides. After bringing him to the governor’s workplace in early 2023, the Shapiro administration settled an unrelated sexual harassment grievance in opposition to Vereb final September for practically $300,000, in accordance with the Philadelphia Inquirer. Weeks later, Vereb resigned.

Critics say the allegations in opposition to Vereb increase questions on whether or not Shapiro ought to have identified about his alleged habits and labored tougher to stop it.

Manuel Bonder, a spokesperson for Shapiro, claimed the then-attorney common was not made conscious of the lady’s grievance on the time and extra broadly condemned Vereb’s alleged habits.

“This incident occurred 6 years in the past and was not reported to company management on the time,” Bonder mentioned in an announcement to ABC Information. “This alleged habits can be fully inappropriate and wouldn’t be tolerated — and any use of the Governor’s identify on this method is unacceptable.”

Vereb declined to remark for this story.

Within the fall of 2023, inside weeks of Vereb’s resignation, the lady transmitted an e-mail recounting her expertise to one in every of Shapiro’s deputy chiefs of workers and a gaggle of state legislators, each Republicans and Democrats.

“[Vereb] confronted and threatened me that night leaving me weeping and in shock standing alone in a car parking zone,” she wrote of the telephone name within the October 2023 e-mail, which was obtained by ABC Information. “Then and now I used to be struck by how he appeared so comfy in threatening me.”

She wrote that she had raised the incident on the time in 2018, together with to a member of Shapiro’s workplace who “compassionately listened” however later handed away with out getting again to her. It isn’t clear what the worker did with the data earlier than she handed away.

In her 2023 e-mail, the lady — a self-identified impartial who was as soon as a registered Republican — hinted at using the governor’s identify: She wrote that Vereb was “naming a handful of parents with some energy in Harrisburg” and made “some implication of the OAG” — an obvious reference to the Workplace of the Lawyer Common.

The girl, who runs an impartial nonprofit advocacy group for abused youngsters, wrote she acquired the telephone name from Vereb in 2018 in the midst of a coverage dispute between her group and the legal professional common’s workplace.

As legal professional common, Shapiro supported a change to Pennsylvania’s Baby Protecting Providers Legislation within the wake of his workplace’s high-profile investigation into little one abuse inside the state’s Catholic church. The girl’s group had pushed again on parts of the pending laws — citing potential “unintended penalties,” she wrote — which the lady mentioned precipitated the decision from Vereb.

The girl wrote within the e-mail that she felt compelled to come back ahead once more and write the e-mail after information broke that Shapiro’s administration had reached a settlement with an worker who accused Vereb of sexual harassment and retaliation, writing that “the recounting of how she felt intimidated and retaliated in opposition to resonated with me.”

Of the $300,000 sexual harassment settlement Shapiro’s administration brokered, a spokesperson mentioned that “Shapiro and his Administration take each allegation of discrimination and harassment extraordinarily severely and have sturdy procedures in place to completely examine all stories,” however “as a way to shield the privateness of each present and former Commonwealth worker concerned, the Administration doesn’t remark additional on particular personnel issues.”

State Rep. Abby Main, one of many Republicans who acquired the lady’s 2023 e-mail, informed ABC Information on Wednesday she had beforehand identified the lady by way of legislative work and was “proud” of her for coming ahead final 12 months — suggesting that even when Shapiro was unaware of this particular incident, he bears accountability for what she mentioned have been Vereb’s well-known antics.

“[Vereb and Shapiro] have a historical past of Mike being his enforcer — they play good cop, unhealthy cop,” Main mentioned. “Mike [was] out doing Josh’s soiled work so Josh will be the man that everyone loves.”

Erin McClelland, a Democratic candidate for Pennsylvania Treasurer, appeared to criticize Shapiro’s dealing with of the sexual harassment allegation on X final week.

“I need a VP choose that is safe sufficient to be second beneath a girl, is content material to be VP & will not undermine the President to maneuver his personal election & does not sweep sexual harassment beneath the rug,” she wrote.

Different Democrats within the state have defended Shapiro’s means to work with girls and his dealing with of the sexual harassment settlement, which precipitated Vereb’s resignation.

“We all know that Josh Shapiro can be an unimaginable choose [as the vice presidential nominee] — I hope that he’s extremely thought of,” state Rep. Malcolm Kenyatta, a Democrat, mentioned this week. “However clearly, Vice President Harris is aware of what she’s doing.”