Crime-Scene Cleaner Says Boss Forced Him to Defecate in Bucket, Then Stared at His Waste for 15 Minutes, Lawsuit Claims

A crime-scene cleanup worker has accused his former supervisor of forcing him to defecate in a bucket inside a company van, then allegedly spending 15 minutes staring at the waste as part of a sexually charged campaign of workplace harassment, according to a lawsuit filed in New York.

Enrique Rivera, who worked for biohazard cleaning company Aftermath Services, alleged that his supervisor, Michael Azoia, subjected him to degrading behaviour just two weeks after he started the job.

The lawsuit, filed in Albany Supreme Court, claims the incident happened in March while the two men were cleaning an apparent suicide scene in Rome, New York. According to the court filing, Azoia told Rivera that company policy prohibited employees from using customers' bathrooms and instructed him to relieve himself in a bucket inside their work van.

Rivera said he felt obliged to follow the instruction and used the bucket while Azoia remained in the front of the vehicle. However, the alleged humiliation did not end there.

After Rivera finished, Azoia reportedly commented on the sounds he had heard and questioned him about his bodily functions. He allegedly then moved to the back of the van, licked his lips, and stared at the contents of the bucket for 15 minutes.

The supervisor allegedly continued making remarks about the incident while the pair worked together on subsequent cleaning assignments.

Allegations of Further Workplace Harassment

The complaint details several other disturbing incidents that Rivera says took place during his employment.

Azoia allegedly farted near Rivera's face and whispered sexually charged remarks into his ear as many as 20 times a day while they worked at a property in Lake George, New York, where they were cleaning up after an apparent suicide.

In another alleged incident, days before Rivera left the company, Azoia exposed his bare buttocks within inches of the employee's face and made a crude remark about whether it tasted like 'beef stew.'

Rivera said the repeated behaviour left him dreading his shifts and made his working environment deeply humiliating and degrading. He eventually quit after several weeks, according to the report.

In a statement to the New York Post, Rivera said he had accepted the position, expecting to work hard. Instead, he claimed, he spent his working days worrying about what his supervisor would say or do next. 'No one should have to go through that just to earn a paycheck,' Rivera said.

His lawyer, Johnmack Cohen, said Rivera had been hired to clean hazardous materials and never expected his supervisor to become the most troubling part of the job.

Supervisor Denies Allegations

Azoia has rejected Rivera's allegations, disputing the account of the bucket incident and denying that he forced the employee to participate.

Speaking to the New York Post, he said: 'Nothing was forced.' Azoia also alleged that Rivera was facing possible termination because of his own workplace conduct and had made the accusations to create problems for other people.

He described the allegations as 'outlandish' and claimed Rivera was seeking a quick financial settlement. Azoia further disputed the circumstances surrounding his departure from Aftermath Services, maintaining that his termination was unrelated to Rivera's accusations.

Aftermath Services confirmed that it had investigated complaints involving a former employee and taken action.

'When concerns were raised against a now-former employee, we promptly investigated them and took appropriate action,' the company said, while adding that it disputed the allegations. The allegations remain claims contained in a civil lawsuit, rather than judicial findings of fact.