Could Concilio's 'black eye' be fatal?

It's considered "the heart and center" of the Hispanic community.

Its headquarters is a place where mayoral candidates know they can reach out to Latino voters and where weddings, baptisms and other milestone family events are a common sight.

But now Concilio, the Council of Spanish-Speaking Organizations, is in trouble.

A recent finding by the Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission against Concilio has serious implications for the state's first Latino organization.

The commission found probable cause that Concilio and its ex-director Roberto Santiago had engaged in sexual harassment against a former female employee, according to documents obtained by the Daily News.

The PHRC also directed Concilio to "cease and desist" from sexual discrimination against its employees, to provide sexual harassment training to all its employees and to reimburse the complainant for her expenses.

These issues will be discussed at a closed-door conciliation meeting scheduled for March 23 in Philadelphia that could lead to action by the PHRC against the agency if there's no agreement.

"It's a rare case when the PHRC issues a finding of probable cause," said employment lawyer Alice W. Ballard. The commission "won't issue a finding of probable cause unless they're willing to take the case to court in their own name."

Calling the finding "a great result," Jeffrey Compalongo, the attorney representing the accuser against the nonprofit, said, "This is a real big black eye for Concilio."

Such a scenario could mean legal fees for the 47-year-old Concilio, which could be battered by a litigation fight. It also raises the possibility that Concilio's sponsorships and its city contracts might dry up, which has many community leaders worried.

"It's scary. I hope in the long run it will survive," said Johnny Irizarry, a longtime North Philadelphia community activist, who's a member of the School Reform Commission and director of La Casa Latina, at the University of Pennsylvania.

Former Councilman Angel Ortiz put it bluntly: "Concilio has been reeling. It has a problem right now, and that's been that lack of leadership for the last year-and-a-half."

Ortiz, who has been friends with Santiago for years, said in an interview Thursday that he hasn't seen or talked with the former Concilio director for months. He said that he doesn't know where Santiago has been.

The accuser, a Concilio social worker, claimed in her PHRC complaint filed last May that Santiago had sexually assaulted her two months prior in his office, on 7th Street near Fairmount Avenue. The victim, a 36-year-old mother of three, then endured sexual harassment at the workplace with Santiago making sexual advances, with the knowledge of other agency employees, according to the complaint.

After months of public support for Santiago, the board fired him in September. His replacement, Joanna Otero-Cruz, began on Monday.

"We do not expect this to hinder our ability to do business with the city," said Concilio board president Tony Valdes. "Everybody's really excited about the direction we're going in."

He said he has had "open conversations about how future relationships can look like" with sponsors and city officials.

Some sponsors contacted by the Daily News were unaware of PHRC's action.

Bonnie Clark, vice president of communications for the Phillies, wrote in an e-mail: "It's difficult to comment on the situation without knowing all the facts, but we have supported Concilio in the past based on the commendable work they have done in the community. Once the facts are known, we will decide whether our relationship with Concilio will be affected."

Peco Energy Co. has been a longtime supporter of diverse events in the region, including the Puerto Rican Day Parade, which is overseen by Concilio, said spokesman Ben Armstrong. The utility company contributes to the parade fund, he stressed, and not the agency.

"We do not support Concilio. We support the parade."

Yet, Councilwoman Maria Quinones-Sanchez doesn't believe that the future is gloomy for Concilio. She called the PHRC "pretty progressive" at "working with groups in reaching a settlement" before entering a legal process.

Concilio, critical to the history of the Puerto Rican community in Philadelphia, was the "incubator" for other social-service agencies, such as Congreso de Latinos Unidos and Aspira, said Irizarry.

"I hope the incident [the alleged sexual assault and the purported sexual harassment] doesn't erase the value of this place and space to this community and to its history," Irizarry said.

Doug Oliver, a spokesman for the Mayor's Office, said that Concilio "still provides an important function to Latinos and the North Philadelphia community."

"As the city reviews contracts, it will take an objective look at any organization competing for city contracts," Oliver said.