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Fired city manager seeking wrongful termination damages
Attorney Jonathan Marko says they are now going after Wrongful Termination in a case that will seek several million dollars in damages.
HAMTRAMCK, Mich. (FOX 2) - After an electrifying city council meeting on Tuesday that led to the firing of Hamtramck officials, many are wondering about the next steps of the newly fired city manager.
The City Council voted him out of the job. Now his attorney says their ongoing lawsuit against the city has been super-charged.
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Attorney Jonathan Marko says they are now going after Wrongful Termination in a case that will seek several million dollars in damages.
Council members voted City Manager Max Garbarino out of the job after going into a closed-door meeting for more than an hour last night. The termination came after city officials reviewed an independent investigation report from the Miller Johnson law firm which said Garbarino was too slow in placing Police Chief Jamiel Altaheri and Officer David Adamczyk on leave after learning of several misconduct allegations against them.
The chief was also fired by the Council and the wheels were set in motion for the officer’s firing as well following information in that same law firm report.
"So now we’re seeking wrongful termination damages, which are going to be in the millions of dollars and if you look at the cases that we have brought I mean these are very easy cases from our perspective," attorney Jonathan Marko said. "The wheels of justice move extremely slow but I’m going to be pushing it as fast as I can. We’re going to be putting some jet fuel on this case with the city of Hamtramck has helped us out along the way with their actions last night. And we’re going to start deposing people, taking them to court, we’re going to be looking through their records and we’re going to make sure we get to the bottom of this - the trouble and the ramifications for the defendants from the City of Hamtramck is just beginning."
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That independent probe also questioned Garbarino’s decision to attend a June Council meeting with a concealed pistol soon after being placed on leave.
Hamtramck’s mayor told FOX 2 the city had already paid $400,000 for that independent investigation, but Garbarino’s attorney says they’re going to end up paying even more.