The Boston Water and Sewer Commission has spent tens of thousands of dollars investigating its human resources director, but continued to give her raises, promote her and now pay her $202,873 salary while she stays home on paid leave.

Public records released by the Commission following a Herald request and appeal to the Secretary of State’s office show two outside law firms were hired to conduct investigations into chief human resource officer Marie Theodat, who’s embroiled in several civil lawsuits that include fraud allegations, at different times last year.

Although the Commission was paying for investigations into “allegations of misconduct against” Theodat, it continued to give her a series of raises. Her pay has been hiked by 61% since 2019, and the Commission promoted Theodat from human resources director to chief human resource officer last September.

Nearly $30,000 was billed to the Commission in August and December 2024 for two investigations of an undisclosed nature. One internal investigation into Theodat was also conducted by the Commission, at a cost that was not disclosed by the quasi-public agency, records show.

The Commission is “withholding three internal investigation reports related to Marie Theodat’s employment” with the agency, BWSC spokesperson Dolores Randolph wrote in the records response. The Commission was ordered to provide the related reports by the Secretary of State’s office after a Herald appeal.

“The Commission investigated allegations of misconduct against Ms. Theodat and issued these investigation reports to determine whether any disciplinary action, up to and including termination, was required,” Randolph wrote. “The investigation reports include specific details regarding Ms. Theodat’s personal and professional life, and contain factual findings determining the truthfulness of the allegations against her.

“The investigation reports are highly likely to create personal embarrassment for Ms. Theodat because disclosure would make public, at the very least, the allegations of misconduct raised against her,” Randolph added. “These reports are focused solely on specific allegations of misconduct, and there are no segregable portions that could be produced in unredacted form.”

Theodat did not respond to a request for comment.

Randolph said the three invoice copies pertained to two firms “that were retained to conduct fact investigations on behalf of the Commission related to Ms. Theodat’s employment with the Commission.”

The Commission chose to “redact hourly time entries that reveal sensitive information concerning the nature of the investigations concerning Ms. Theodat,” citing an exemption from public records law under the “work product doctrine.”

A third investigation was conducted by members of the Commission’s salaried staff, so no additional fees or expenses were incurred in connection with that review, Randolph wrote.

The first commissioned investigation was conducted between July 16 and July 30 last year, according to an Aug. 5 invoice from ADR Research. The invoice was sent to Michael Flaherty, a former Boston city councilor who was general counsel of the Water and Sewer Commission at the time.

Flaherty was later fired by the Commission, this past Jan. 10, due to what the quasi-public agency said was a “breakdown in the working relationship” between Flaherty and the Commission’s Executive Director Henry Vitale.

The two other invoices for commissioned investigation work — as it relates to Theodat — were sent last December to Nixon Peabody, an outside law firm that appears to now be handling the bulk of the Commission’s legal responsibilities.

Per Commission records, Nixon Peabody was hired on a contractual basis in late October of last year for $350,000, and was retained again this past January for a $500,000 contract that extends throughout the end of this year.

The first commissioned investigation took place in the month that preceded the filing of a civil lawsuit in Suffolk Superior Court that alleged Theodat worked with relatives to swindle her elderly and dementia-ridden uncle out of his home.

At the time, two other lawsuits were pending against Theodat in Suffolk Superior Court, including one that involved some of the same parties and the same Dorchester home as the August 2024 lawsuit and one that alleges Theodat stiffed a woman on a $75,000 mortgage loan.

The August 2024 civil lawsuit that alleges Theodat “fraudulently induced” her uncle to sign over the deed to his $1.1 million home for “less than $100” first came to light in an October 2024 Herald report.

Weeks later, per Commission records, Serino Law was retained by the agency to conduct an investigation into Theodat, that per the invoices, extended from Oct. 29 to Dec. 20. The law firm was paid nearly $25,000.

At the time, the Commission was being pressured by a trio of unions representing Water and Sewer Commission employees to investigate and suspend Theodat while the “severe” allegations leveled against her in civil lawsuits played out in court.

The unions, SEIU Local 888, IAM Local 100 and OPEIU Local 6, sent a letter to Vitale, the executive director, raising concerns about Theodat’s “personal access to sensitive information such as banking numbers, routing information” and social security numbers.

Related Articles

Boston city councilors push for special election, ethics committee after Tania Fernandes Anderson plea deal

Howie Carr: Tania joins DEI Hall of Shame

Battenfeld: Fernandes Anderson needs to go, now

Boston Mayor Wu says federal funding ‘chaos’ could lead to city layoffs, hiring freeze

Disgraced Boston City Councilor Tania Fernandes Anderson hand-picks media interviews after plea deal

In February, following an earlier Herald records request and appeal, the Commission released records showing that Theodat was on paid administrative leave. No reason was listed for her employment change, with the Commission citing privacy and personnel exemptions.

A Herald inquiry last week into when Theodat was placed on leave and how long taxpayers would be paying her $202,873 salary was not answered by the agency.

City and Commission payroll records show Theodat was the highest paid human resources director in the City of Boston last year, and was tied with five other department chiefs as the sixth-highest paid employee at the Commission.

Michael Flaherty (Chris Christo/Boston Herald)