Ex-North Babylon assistant principal Richard Del Gaudio forced to work in storage closet after criticizing superintendent, suit alleges

A former North Babylon assistant principal is suing the district for allegedly exiling him to “dungeon-like working conditions" after he publicly criticized the then-superintendent, causing him “physical, emotional, and reputational damage,” per the complaint.

Richard Del Gaudio was an assistant principal at Robert Moses Middle School in 2022 when he took aim at Glen Eschbach during a school board meeting amid “protracted and contentious labor negotiations,” according to the complaint recently filed against Eschbach and the district in Suffolk County Supreme Court. After briefly placing him on administrative leave, Eschbach banished Del Gaudio to a "series of makeshift storage closets containing mold and other environmental hazards" for about two years, the lawsuit states. 

During those two years, Del Gaudio allegedly did not have contact with his colleagues during the workday and was not allowed to participate in any outside school activities, such as attending board or union meetings, or hold stipend positions. He also could not apply to other positions in the district, according to the lawsuit.

Meanwhile, Del Gaudio claims in the lawsuit, he could not protect himself from damaging rumors that were spreading.

Around the spring of 2024, a new superintendent reassigned Del Gaudio to the high school as an assistant principal. According to the complaint, this “was an improvement over the dungeon-like working conditions he had been subjected to the previous two (2) years," but it was not a position he requested.

The mounting stress caused him to resign in September 2025, the complaint states.

A North Babylon district spokesman said the district does not comment on pending litigation. Calls to Eschbach were not returned.

State complaint

Del Gaudio claims in the complaint that after he publicly criticized Eschbach, the superintendent placed him on administrative leave. A month later, Eschbach allegedly told him there were no grounds for disciplinary action or a determination of wrongdoing. But instead of returning to his role, Del Gaudio was relegated to a “storage closet in the business office ... which had no ventilation, no windows, no phone, no heat and a single computer,” according to the complaint.

The lawsuit states Eschbach subsequently filed a Part 83 complaint with the state Education Department’s Office of School Personnel Review and Accountability, which is charged with investigating allegations concerning an educator’s “moral character.”

Del Gaudio claims he was not made aware of the nature of the allegations but, for a year, he continued showing up to the storage closet where he was assigned “menial clerical duties,” like photocopying. In June 2023, Eschbach called him in to a meeting where he tried to pressure him to resign and assume an untenured position. Del Gaudio refused, according to the lawsuit.

Del Gaudio was then shunted to another storage closet located in the basement of an administrative building that contained mold. For another year, he was exposed to poor conditions, “including dust, mold, mildew, and lack of sunlight,” the complaint states. He claims this took a toll on his physical and mental health.

According to the lawsuit, the state has still not concluded its investigation and Del Gaudio has not learned the basis of the allegations.

“As a result of all of the foregoing, plaintiff suffered and continues to suffer the lasting embarrassment, humiliation, anguish and severe emotional and physical distress,” the lawsuit states.

The state Education Department did not return an email seeking comment about the status of the complaint.

Del Gaudio seeks unspecified compensatory and punitive damages.