Ex-employee sues credit union

Resigned loan officer accuses former employer of forcing him to quit via harassment.

By Jackson Bell, News-Press and Leader

NORTHEAST GLENDALE -- A former California Credit Union employee filed a lawsuit against the company and its chief lending officer Tuesday, claiming he was sexually harassed by his boss, retaliated against upon reporting it, then wrongfully terminated.

Vito D'Erasmo, a former loan officer, said he was pushed into resigning when he complained of emotional distress from former executive Bill Walker's abuse, and was required to work six hours without any breaks, according to his attorney, Okorie Okorocha.

The suit does not request a specific amount of money, just compensation for suffering and lost income, Okorocha said. The credit union's central office is on North Brand Boulevard.

"Vito keeps saying he doesn't want them to be able to do this to anyone else, and it's a concern from a public standpoint to think a big company might be operating like a sweatshop," Okorocha said.

Walker allegedly gave D'Erasmo, a gay man, custom-made CDs between January and December 2004 that contained sexually explicit lyrics and racial comments, according to the lawsuit filed Tuesday in Glendale Superior Court.

Chris Kerecman, a spokesman for the credit union, did not return several calls Wednesday. Efforts to reach Walker were unsuccessful.

When D'Erasmo told the human resources department he was being sexually harassed, the credit union neither corrected the problem nor protected him from further abuse, according to the suit. D'Erasmo claims he was later skipped over for a promotion, not included in meetings and luncheons, and instructed to work long hours without breaks.

"He got sick of all the abuse and being forced to work those hours," Okorocha said. "[The credit union's] general counsel was screaming at him and telling him it was not working out. He was essentially forced to resign."

Okorocha also said D'Erasmo's employers were retaliating against him because he told authorities the credit union violated the Privacy Act. Customers' personal and financial records were stolen, and D'Erasmo reported that the information was stored in cardboard boxes in rooms that were easily accessible to the public, he said.

* JACKSON BELL covers public safety and courts. He may be reached at (818) 637-3232 or by e-mail at jackson.bell@

latimes.com.