Could Concilio's 'black eye' be fatal?

It's considered "the heart and center" of the Hispanic community.

Its headquarters is a place where mayoral candidates know they can reach out to Latino voters and where weddings, baptisms and other milestone family events are a common sight.

But now Concilio, the Council of Spanish-Speaking Organizations, is in trouble.

A recent finding by the Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission against Concilio has serious implications for the state's first Latino organization.

The commission found probable cause that Concilio and its ex-director Roberto Santiago had engaged in sexual harassment against a former female employee, according to documents obtained by the Daily News.

The PHRC also directed Concilio to "cease and desist" from sexual discrimination against its employees, to provide sexual harassment training to all its employees and to reimburse the complainant for her expenses.

These issues will be discussed at a closed-door conciliation meeting scheduled for March 23 in Philadelphia that could lead to action by the PHRC against the agency if there's no agreement.

"It's a rare case when the PHRC issues a finding of probable cause," said employment lawyer Alice W. Ballard. The commission "won't issue a finding of probable cause unless they're willing to take the case to court in their own name."

Calling the finding "a great result," Jeffrey Compalongo, the attorney representing the accuser against the nonprofit, said, "This is a real big black eye for Concilio."

Such a scenario could mean legal fees for the 47-year-old Concilio, which could be battered by a litigation fight. It also raises the possibility that Concilio's sponsorships and its city contracts might dry up, which has many community leaders worried.

"It's scary. I hope in the long run it will survive," said Johnny Irizarry, a longtime North Philadelphia community activist, who's a member of the School Reform Commission and director of La Casa Latina, at the University of Pennsylvania.

Former Councilman Angel Ortiz put it bluntly: "Concilio has been reeling. It has a problem right now, and that's been that lack of leadership for the last year-and-a-half."

Ortiz, who has been friends with Santiago for years, said in an interview Thursday that he hasn't seen or talked with the former Concilio director for months. He said that he doesn't know where Santiago has been.