WPRO’s John DePetro: ‘I Have Been Suspended’

John DePetro said he was suspended until Monday for talking to me about the sexual harassment lawsuit brought against him, he said in an email to me today.

Here is the email he sent me in its entirety:

I have been suspended for my part in the story that appeared about me this morning.  I have already denied the allegations against me, and I should not have discussed the matter beyond that.  To make things worse, the quotes that were attributed to me were not entirely accurate.  I hope it is clear that I do not speak on behalf of Cumulus with regards to the investigation or any other Company employment matters.   I have learned from my mistake and look forward to returning to the air on Monday.  Going forward, I shall have no further comments about this matter.

On Tuesday, DePetro called me after reading a post I wrote imploring WPRO to replace him with a more suitable talk show host. Without asking for the conversation to be off the record, he told me what he thought about the allegations brought against him.

I also got an email from new WPRO Program Director Craig Schwalb, 15 minutes prior to getting the email from DePetro. He did not mention DePetro being suspended and could not be immediately reached for comment. Here’s that email in its entirety too:

Our usual policy is not to discuss pending litigation or confidential employment matters with the media. That said, we must correct statements that were attributed to Cumulus earlier today. Cumulus did a prompt and complete investigation of the concerns that Ms. DeQuattro raised with the Company. Cumulus encourages employees to report these type of concerns and we are glad she did so. By its nature, this sort of investigation focuses on whether specific allegations can be confirmed or refuted. In terms of the results of this particular investigation and the actions taken by the Company, we will continue to respect the confidentiality that should be provided to internal employment matters.

The lawsuit has nothing to do with WPROs day-to-day operations and will be resolved through the court system. Dee DeQuattro continues to be a valuable part of the WPRO team and we all continue to work together to provide WPRO listeners with the very best news and commentary.