MILFORD, MA — A long-running legal battle between former police chief Thomas O’Loughlin — now a member of the Milford Select Board — and the town is over.
O’Loughlin’s lawsuit against the town over a 2018 vote not to renew his contract was dismissed on May 9, according to court records. The dismissal was done “with prejudice,” which means the legal issue has been permanently settled, and without either side having to pay court costs and attorneys fees.
O’Loughlin filed the lawsuit in 2018, seeking over $500,000 for damage done to his reputation over the October 2018 contract renewal vote. The suit was brought against the town, but also former select board members William Kingkade Jr. and William Buckley. Current Select Board member Michael Walsh voted against ending O’Loughlin’s contract in 2018.
Find out what's happening in Milfordwith free, real-time updates from Patch.
A Worcester County Superior Court judge in 2019 dismissed parts of the lawsuit over contract violations, but allowed a portion of the lawsuit accusing Buckley and William of defamation for releasing a letter to local media that described allegations of impropriety against O’Loughlin, according to court records.
O’Loughlin, who became chief in 2001, stepped down in June 2019, leading to several years of tumult in the department’s top job.
Find out what's happening in Milfordwith free, real-time updates from Patch.
Michael Pighetti took over for O’Loughlin in 2019 as interim chief. After a nationwide search in 2020, the town picked Baltimore police Maj. James Rhoden Jr. for the job, but he turned it down. Pighetti was then hired as chief on a three-year contract, but after about a year, the Select Board placed Pighetti on administrative leave to investigate the circumstances of a January 2021 traffic stop. In October 2021, the select board fired Pighetti over that stop. Chief James Falvey was given a two-year contract after Pighetti’s termination, which led to another search for a chief and the eventual hiring of deputy chief Robert Tusino in the fall.
Pighetti filed a lawsuit against Milford in late 2023, alleging that his firing in 2021 was organized by O’Loughlin, who was by that time a select board member. According to the lawsuit, O’Loughlin complained that Pighetti did not have the authority to pull over an erratic driver he stopped along Congress Street in January 2021. The lawsuit also alleges that O’Loughlin recommended hiring private investigator and former state trooper Thomas Green to investigate the traffic stop, which led to a recommendation to fire Pighetti. The lawsuit is still in the discovery phase, according to court records.
The dismissal of O’Loughlin’s lawsuit was first ordered at the end of April, but all parties did not file an agreement on the dismissal until May 9 — one day before the lawsuit was set to go to a jury trial.
Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.
Click Here: cheap sydney roosters jersey