A former aide to Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro, Mike Vereb, allegedly left a woman "weeping and in shock" after a threatening phone call in 2018, according to an email she sent to state lawmakers in 2023, five years later.
During the call, Vereb reportedly mentioned Shapiro's name, warning the woman that "by the time he and Josh were done with me, I would be worse than nothing." The woman, who wished to remain anonymous, told ABC News that Vereb threatened, "You are going to continue to be nothing by the time Josh and I get done with you." She described being deeply unsettled by Vereb's casual reference to powerful figures.
"Obviously, what left me shaken was not just Mr. Vereb's aggressive and relentless tone, but also how casually he implied he was acting on behalf of others," she said.
The revelation of the 2018 incident, which had not been previously reported, comes as Shapiro is considered a leading candidate to join Vice President Kamala Harris as her running mate on the Democratic ticket.
There is no indication that Shapiro, who was serving as Pennsylvania's Attorney General at the time, was aware of Vereb's alleged threatening call.
This 2018 incident is the second allegation of misconduct against Vereb, who was once a close aide to Shapiro. After being brought to the governor's office in early 2023, the Shapiro administration settled an unrelated sexual harassment complaint against Vereb last September for nearly $300,000, according to the Philadelphia Inquirer. Vereb resigned shortly after the settlement.
Critics argue that the allegations against Vereb cast doubt on whether Shapiro should have been aware of and taken action to prevent such behavior.
Manuel Bonder, a spokesperson for Shapiro, stated that the former Attorney General was not informed of the woman's complaint at the time and broadly condemned Vereb's alleged actions.
"This incident occurred six years ago and was not reported to agency leadership at the time," Bonder said in a statement to ABC News. "Such alleged behavior would be entirely inappropriate and unacceptable, and any misuse of the Governor's name in this way is unacceptable."
Vereb declined to comment on the story.
In the fall of 2023, shortly after Vereb's resignation, the woman sent an email detailing her experience to one of Shapiro's deputy chiefs of staff and a group of state legislators from both parties.
In the October 2023 email, which ABC News obtained, she wrote, "[Vereb] confronted and threatened me that evening, leaving me weeping and in shock in a parking lot." She expressed her distress over how at ease Vereb seemed while making threats.
She mentioned that she had reported the incident in 2018, including to a member of Shapiro’s office who "compassionately listened" but later passed away before following up with her. It is unclear what actions, if any, were taken with the information before the employee's death.
In her 2023 email, the woman—an independent who was formerly a registered Republican—hinted at the use of the governor's name, noting that Vereb "named a handful of folks with some power in Harrisburg" and made "some implication of the OAG," seemingly referring to the Office of the Attorney General.
The woman, who runs an independent nonprofit advocacy group for abused children, explained that the phone call from Vereb in 2018 occurred amid a policy dispute between her organization and the Attorney General’s office. Shapiro, as Attorney General, had advocated for changes to Pennsylvania's Child Protective Services Law following his office's prominent investigation into child abuse within the state’s Catholic church. The woman's organization had opposed certain aspects of the proposed legislation, citing potential "unintended consequences," which she believed led to the call from Vereb.
In her email, she expressed that she felt compelled to speak out again after learning about the settlement reached by Shapiro’s administration with an employee who accused Vereb of sexual harassment and retaliation, noting that the account of intimidation and retaliation resonated with her own experience.
Regarding the $300,000 sexual harassment settlement brokered by Shapiro's administration, a spokesperson emphasized that "Shapiro and his Administration take every allegation of discrimination and harassment extremely seriously and have robust procedures in place to thoroughly investigate all reports." However, the spokesperson added that "in order to protect the privacy of every current and former Commonwealth employee involved, the Administration does not comment further on specific personnel matters."
State Rep. Abby Major, one of the Republicans who received the woman’s 2023 email, told ABC News she had known the woman through legislative work and was "proud" of her for coming forward. Major suggested that even if Shapiro was unaware of this specific incident, he should be held accountable for what she described as Vereb's well-known behavior.
"[Vereb and Shapiro] have a history of Mike being his enforcer—playing good cop, bad cop," Major said. "Mike [was] out doing Josh's dirty work so Josh could be the one everyone loves."
Erin McClelland, a Democratic candidate for Pennsylvania Treasurer, appeared to criticize Shapiro's handling of the sexual harassment claim on X last week. "I want a VP pick that's secure enough to be second under a woman, is content to be VP & won't undermine the President to maneuver his own election & doesn't sweep sexual harassment under the rug," she wrote.
Other Democrats have defended Shapiro’s handling of the situation and his ability to work with women. "We know that Josh Shapiro would be an incredible pick [for the vice presidential nominee]—I hope he is highly considered," state Rep. Malcolm Kenyatta, a Democrat, said this week. "But obviously, Vice President Harris knows what she’s doing."