Monica Archer: NYC shelter worker claims she was fired for 'warning' of trans serial killer Marceline Harvey
MANHATTAN, NEW YORK CITY: An ex-caseworker at a Manhattan senior shelter alleges she was let go for warning that twice-convicted murderer Marceline Harvey threatened her. This was despite the killer being accused of the gruesome murder of a former resident of George Daly House, Alphabet City.
In a 16-page lawsuit filed on Monday, December 5, Archer claimed that 83-year-old Harvey was allegedly permitted to reside at the short-term housing facility for seniors despite the warnings. “To the detriment of the public, when Ms. Harvey was placed into society in her own apartment, Ms. Harvey allegedly murdered a former resident no more than a week later, clearly inapposite to the best interests of public safety,” the lawsuit read.
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The lawsuit claims that the elderly ex-con, a transgender woman who was sentenced to lifetime parole after serving 50 years in prison for the murder and dismemberment of two other women, "made constant threats to kill" Archer and other staff members and maintained a revolver at the shelter. However, bosses kept allowing Harvey to live there despite "knowing that she had been accused of and convicted of several murders, allegedly possessed a gun, and regularly threatened to kill staff members.”
The lawsuit claims that after Archer said Harvey had tried to follow her a couple of times, she felt so scared that she took detours to go home from work. “[Archer] had no choice but to continue working with Ms. Harvey despite serious safety concerns and fear for her well-being,” the suit states. “[Archer] complained that she reasonably believed that having Ms. Harvey at the residence of metal detectors was a substantial and specific danger to public health and safety," as reported by New York Post.
She told a supervisor that Harvey belonged in a more "supporting" setting, such as a facility for those with drug or mental health problems since she thought it would be an "appropriate setting for the serial killer who has issues that I can’t address." The Manhattan Supreme Court complaint states that after being given Harvey her own apartment by her employers, Harvey was accused of the murder and dismemberment of her friend a week later. Her cries were ignored, however, and the shelter "released Ms. Harvey into society to live by herself, contrary to what Defendants’ program and Plaintiff recommended, violating its own rules,” according to the lawsuit. It notes that this "posed a great public safety risk."
According to the lawsuit, Archer continued to express concerns about safety issues and reported the facility to the US Occupational Safety and Health Administration. The lawsuit claims that her superiors subsequently took revenge on her, including assigning her to housekeeping tasks and forbidding her from working remotely.
It came as "no surprise" to Archer when she learned in March that Harvey was accused of killing 68-year-old Susan Leyden, whose remains were discovered scattered over Brooklyn, the lawsuit claimed. According to her lawsuit, two months later Archer claims she was fired for initially raising the alarm. On May 24, she was placed on administrative leave without pay, and a week later, "although they had no documentation, written or otherwise," and was fired for insubordination. “Ms. Archer was put in a position at work that no employee should face,” her attorney, Jeffrey Risman, told NY Post on Monday, December 5.