Coroner Robert Foucrault exposed his backside at the workplace and fostered a “hostile and sexual” environment that included repeated remarks about employees’ sexual orientation and a life-sized skeleton decoration with breasts, according to a discrimination complaint that may lead to a lawsuit against the county.

The disclosure comes two days after Jerry Hill, president of the Board of Supervisors, publicly pulled his endorsement of Foucrault who is running for re-election. On Wednesday, Hill said he could not legally explain his decision but that he had phoned Foucrault to explain himself.

On Friday, documents explaining the pending discrimination suit by a male employee became public, shedding light on why Hill said he could no longer support an incumbent he previously backed and financially contributed to in the last election four years ago.

Foucrault, 43, declined to comment on the accusations and deferred questions to his attorney, Bill Rapoport. Rapoport did not return a call for comment.

The allegations were made anonymously Aug. 29, 2005 and named Foucrault and Senior Deputy Coroner Felipe Fernandez. The county does not typically heed unnamed complaints but “given the nature of the allegations, coupled with the specificity of incident and level of authority of participants” held interviews between Aug. 31 and Sept. 20, according to an inter-departmental memo to County Counsel Tom Casey.

Examples of the alleged behavior include: obscene or off-color jokes, lewd remarks, chronic use of sexual language, the figurine of a naked woman draped with a veil on a birthday cake, a “mooning” incident by Foucrault witnessed by employees, repeated comments to employees regarding sexual orientation and a life-sized skeleton decoration with women’s breasts drawn on it.

The Board of Supervisors is expected to discuss the allegations and a pending suit during closed session Tuesday. Neither Casey nor Deputy County Counsel Mike Murphy returned calls for comment.

Foucrault, who has worked for the office since 1992, became acting coroner after the death of former coroner Adrian “Bud” Moorman in 2001. A measure seeking to eliminate an elected coroner and combine it with the Sheriff’s Office was proposed but was overwhelmingly defeated by voters. Foucrault had supported Measure A but announced his intention to run for the office after it was defeated. He won the following 2002 contested election with 77 percent of the vote.

Foucrault was unopposed when he threw his hat in the ring for re-election. In May, however, Stacie Nevares, a 32-year-old Coroner’s Office assistant, announced her intention to run as a write-in candidate.

When word of Hill’s change of heart broke earlier this week, Nevares expressed hope she might nab his backing. Hill said he had no plans to do so.

Supervisor Rich Gordon is reserving judgment but admitted the contents of the newly public documents “are very worrisome.”

“I have not spoken with the coroner and would not want to make any public statement until I had the chance to speak with him or get his version of the story,” Gordon said.

The accusations against Foucrault are not the first scandal to his the San Mateo County Coroner’s Office. Employees of former Coroner Paul Jenson were accused of stealing possessions from the deceased in 1973 and the toxicology lab was turned over to the sheriff in 1980 because of alleged impropriety.

Foucrault has not posted any candidate statement for Tuesday’s election but did comment in 2002.

“I believe in the concept that government works when it provides the highest quality service. You will find me very sensitive to family needs and diverse cultural practices,” Foucrault stated on the smartvoter.org Web site.

Michelle Durand can be reached by e-mail: michelle@smdailyjournal.com or by phone: (650) 344-5200 ext. 102. What do you think of this story? Send a letter to the editor: letters@smdailyjournal.com.