Dewey Beach responds to claims of shredded documents related to town manager investigation

Officials are claiming that the town of Dewey Beach shredded documents amid the investigation into town Manager Marc Appelbaum.

According to attorney Richard Cross, who is representing former town employees who have issued complaints against Appelbaum, the town of Dewey Beach shredded documents relating to that investigation even after they were asked to preserve all documents relating to town manager Marc Appelbaum by the Delaware Public Integrity Commission.

Cross said that a document that was not shredded was directly related to the investigation and that it was supposed to be preserved by both the internal investigator and the Public Integrity Commission.

Cross also claims that assistant town Manager Jim Dedes was in place during the litigation to ensure the rights of the complaining employees, and that he provided documents for shredding/destruction.

The town of Dewey Beach responded to the claims saying that the documents were outdated from an audit, that they were documents from town meetings, that they were related to the comprehensive plan and that they were not related to the investigation.

Dewey Beach town commissioner also said that the shredded documents were a part of routine cleaning since they have a relatively small office.

This comes after Marc Appelbaum was accused of inappropriate behavior and sexual harassment by former town employees over seven years.

One of the accusations alleges that he harassed female employees by wearing pajama bottoms without underwear and that he screamed and swore in front of employees.