Mayor of small California town accused of raping one woman and sexually assaulting three others


Four women have accused Dominic Foppoli, a wealthy winemaker and mayor of Windsor, California, of sexual misconduct spanning 16 years

Four women have accused Dominic Foppoli, a wealthy winemaker and mayor of Windsor, California, of sexual misconduct spanning 16 years

The mayor of a small, affluent town in California’s wine country has been accused of raping one woman and sexually assaulting three others, prompting local authorities to launch a criminal investigation and leading to widespread calls for his resignation.

Dominic Foppoli, 38, who has been mayor of Windsor in Sonoma County since 2018, has found himself under fire after the San Francisco Chronicle on Thursday published a bombshell expose, which recounted in graphic detail the up-and-coming politician’s suspected sexual misconduct between 2003 and 2019. 

In the article, a former campaign volunteer accused Foppoli of raping her twice in one night after a boozy New Year’s Eve celebration in 2003. She was 18 at the time, and told Foppoli she was saving herself for marriage. 

Another accuser claimed that Foppoli brought her to his home after drinking at a nightclub in 2006, and then tried to pull off her pants. The woman said she locked herself in the bathroom for hours before escaping. 

Foppoli is a scion of a prominent family that has been producing wines in Sonoma County for five generations

Foppoli is a scion of a prominent family that has been producing wines in Sonoma County for five generations

In 2015, Foppoli (cicrled) took part in a Mr California contest hosted by Steve Harvey

In 2015, Foppoli (cicrled) took part in a Mr California contest hosted by Steve Harvey 

A third accuser shared with the Chronicle that in 2012, she and Foppoli were attending a conference together when she got drunk, and he allegedly brought her to his hotel room and had oral sex with her, even though she was semi-conscious and too inebriated to offer her consent. 

The most recent accusation dates from 2019, when a 21-year-old intern at a winery said Foppoli groped and forcibly kissed her, despite her telling the mayor ‘No.

An attorney representing Foppoli told the newspaper that he ‘categorically denies having engaged in any of the abuses described.’

Just hours after the publication of the expose, the Sonoma County Sheriff’s Office released a statement, announcing that the agency had opened an investigation into the allegations against Foppoli, and asking additional potential victims to come forward.  

‘This is a developing situation as we attempt to gather information and interview potential victims,’ Sonoma County Sheriff Mark Essick said. ‘At this point I am not able to provide additional information as I do not want to jeopardize the integrity of the investigation.’

As of Friday afternoon, Foppoli has not been arrested or charged with any crime. 

In 2016, Foppoli boasted in a Facebook post about sharing multiple bottles of wine with Rudy Giuliani, whom he called 'a role model'

In 2016, Foppoli boasted in a Facebook post about sharing multiple bottles of wine with Rudy Giuliani, whom he called ‘a role model’ 

Windsor town officials released a statement on its official website overnight, calling the allegations made against the mayor ‘shocking and horrible.’ 

‘The conduct described in the article published by the San Francisco Chronicle is not acceptable nor does it reflect the values or standards we hold ourselves to as a community,’ the statement read. 

‘The Town has referred the allegations to the Windsor Police Department for further investigation and is in the process of evaluating its duties and options under the circumstances. We ask for the community’s trust that the allegations are being taken seriously and that appropriate actions will be taken in response.’

Meanwhile, the mayors of eight nearby towns nestled in the wine country joined forces and issued a statement condemning Foppoli’s alleged behavior and calling on him to step down. 

‘In response to the credibility and significance of the allegations, Sonoma County Mayors of Cloverdale, Cotati, Healdsburg, Petaluma, Rohnert Park, Santa Rosa, Sebastopol and Sonoma demand Dominic Foppoli resign immediately from the Windsor Town Council and all other elected and appointed positions and roles held with special districts and regional boards,’ the authors of the letter demanded. 

Foppoli (2nd L), was first appointed mayor of Windsor in 2018, and then voted into office in 2020. He is pictured with fellow mayors in 2019

Foppoli (2nd L), was first appointed mayor of Windsor in 2018, and then voted into office in 2020. He is pictured with fellow mayors in 2019 

On Thursday, the mayors of eight Sonoma County towns issued a joint statement, demanding that Foppoli resign

On Thursday, the mayors of eight Sonoma County towns issued a joint statement, demanding that Foppoli resign 

Foppoli was first appointed mayor in 2018, then voted into office last year. His term ends in 2022. 

Also in 2021, Foppoli was elected second vice president of the Mayors and Council Members Department at the League of California Cities. 

Just days before the revelations, Foppoli was appointed to the Board of Directors of the Golden Gate Bridge, Highway and Transportation District.

A high-ranking officials said steps are being now taken to rescind Foppoli’s appointment. 

Foppoli is a scion of a wealthy family that has been producing wines in Sonoma County for five generations, beginning with his great-grandfather, Italian immigrant Giuseppe Foppoli, a century ago. 

Dominic has operated Christopher Creek Winery in Healdsburg, California, since 2012, all the while pursuing his considerable political ambitions. He also owns two other wineries and a brewing company in the area. 

According to the Chronicle expose, it was during his 2003 unsuccessful the California State Assembly that Foppoli, then a 21-year-old Dominion University student running as a Republican, allegedly raped his 18-year-old campaign volunteer after she broke up with him. 

The accuser, who did not wish to be named, said her family knew Foppoli from church, and she was drawn to his image as a Catholic and a conservative businessman.

The woman became Foppoli’s personal assistant on the campaign and started dating him in November 2003.

The woman said she told Foppoli at least on two separate occasion that she was waiting for marriage to have sex because of her faith, but she claimed her candidate boyfriend disregarded her wishes, undressed her, fondled her and digitally penetrated her without her consent.

The woman wrote in a journal entry, which she shared with the newspaper, about her anguish afterwards, and soon after she ended her relationship with Foppoli.

Then on December 31, she said Foppoli called and begged her to go out on one final date with him to celebrate New Year’s Eve.

The revelry involved a dinner and several house parties with Foppoli’s friends. At their last stop, around midnight, the woman said Foppoli and the others pressured her to drink Champagne, which marked her first time consuming alcohol, and then continued plying her with shots of hard liquor. 

Foppoli though his attorney denied all the allegations of sexual misconduct

Foppoli though his attorney denied all the allegations of sexual misconduct 

After the woman became severely intoxicated, she said Foppoli led her into a dark bedroom, closed the door behind them and proceeded to undress as she begged him to stop.

‘I asked him not to pull off my skirt & nylons when he tried,’ the woman wrote in her journal later, as reported by the Chronicle. ‘I clutched my skirt trying to hold it at my waist line and even told him I was on my period only to have him feverishly reply he didn’t care.’

Foppoli then allegedly raped his inebriated date. The woman said she threw up over the side of the bed and fell asleep, only to be awakened later by Foppli raping her a second time.

‘I felt sick mentally, emotionally, physically, and especially spiritually,’ she wrote in her journal. ‘I wanted to go somewhere deserted and just run as fast as I could, fall on my knees and scream … ‘Why’? And cry my heart out!’

The woman said when Foppoli drove her home the next morning, he did not apologized for what had happened and chucked up the entire episode to his being drunk.

The alleged rape victim did not pursue legal action against Foppoli, telling the paper she did not know at the time it was an option in a situation involving someone you know. 

In 2018, at the height of the #MeToo movement, the woman posted a message on a Facebook group of Windsor residents, writing: ‘I can tell you firsthand Foppoli is not a man of integrity.’

Foppoli, who was vice-mayor of Windsor at the time, sent the woman a private message, begging her to take down her post, which he said had made his mother cry.

‘We were young and made poor decisions together all of those years ago and I regret that we let things go as far as they did,’ he wrote.

He went on: ‘I strive to now be a strong catholic man for my nephews and nieces to look up to and I don’t want them to be upset about things they read online about their uncle.’ 

Three years after the alleged rape, in 2006, Foppoli was campaigning for a spot on the Windsor Town Council when he took a dance class in Santa Rosa and met then-21-year-old Sophia Williams. 

One night after a group outing to a local nightclub, Williams and Foppoli shared a cab together. Williams said instead of letting her out at home, Foppoli brought her to his apartment, where he offered her to take his bedroom, while he slept on the couch. 

But according to the woman, Foppoli get in bed with her, pinned her to the wall with his body, pressed her groin against her buttocks and tried to kiss her neck, even though she told him to leave. 

After Foppoli allegedly wrapped his arm around her waist and put his finger down her pants, Williams jumped up and ran into the bathroom, where she locked the door and slept on the floor for several hours, and a friend came to pick her up. 

She said she did not press charges against Foppoli because she considered hima  friend, but from then on she made an effort to avoid him. 

In June 2012, as Foppoli’s political star in Sonoma County continued rising, he ran into Allison Britton at a civic convention in Reno, Nevada. 

Britton, then aged 27, said she had been drinking heavily that night while playing poker at a casino. A friend who was with her told the paper she was visibly inebriated. 

The friend said she asked Foppoli to escort Britton to her hotel room, but he allegedly took her to his room instead. 

Britton said she was drifting in and out of consciousness, and at one point found herself kneeling on the hotel bathroom floor. She was topless and Foppoli’s penis was in her mouth.  

‘It scared the f***ing hell out of me,’ she told the paper. 

Britton said she allowed Foppoli to ejaculate on her chest, then passed out on his bed, and eventually slipped out of the room unnoticed. 

Foppoli continued expanding his business empire and racking up political victories, including being appointed to the Windsor Planning Commission, overseeing the town’s development projects, winning a seat on the Windsor Town Council, at age 32 the youngest person to do so, and being elected vice mayor in 2016. 

Around that time, Foppoli shared a photo of himself posing with controversial Mayor Rudy Giuliani in Ohio. He boasted in the caption: ‘just got to spend a couple of hours having dinner and sharing several bottles of wine with a true American icon. Mayor Giuliani gave me some great advice and he’s an inspiration and a role model as to how I can do even more to serve the constituents I’m so blessed to represent.’ 

Rumors about his conduct with women were circulating in the community, including specific allegations that surfaced in 2017, accusing Foppoli of trying to undress two women during a party four years prior, but that did not stop him from being appointed mayor of Windsor in 2018.

Seven months later, Rose Fumoso arrived in Sonoma County from her native France as part of a winemaking internship. 

In September 2019, Fumoso said she was invited to a party at Foppoli’s Christopher Creek Winery. There, she said Foppoli engaged her in conversation and invited to see his Tesla. 

Fumoso said she got into the car and Foppoli drove away. She said she began feeling strange, moving slowly and slipping in and out of consciousness, and did not know how she ended up in the living room of a home, where she said the mayor of Windsor proceeded to grope her buttocks and attempt to kiss her. 

Fumoso said she pushed Foppoli away and told him, ‘No,’ but he persisted. 

Frightened, Fumoso told Foppoli to take her back to the winery. She said she does not remember what happened later. 

Suspicious that she had been drugged, Fumoso had her blood tested in the days after the encounter, but no narcotics were detected. 

She said she considered going to the authorities, but given Foppoli’s status, and her being a foreign intern, she did not think her allegations would be taken seriously.  

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