Grimaldi sues Gordon over firing Filing alleges former top aide was unfairly dismissed and seeks back pay, severance and damages

Xerxes Wilson | The News Journal

An ongoing, bitter dispute between fired New Castle County Chief Administrative Officer David Grimaldi and County Executive Tom Gordon got uglier this week, with the ousted former top aide filing a lawsuit against his former boss claiming wrongful termination and unethical behavior.

The suit, filed in New Castle County Superior Court, names Gordon and the county as defendants. Grimaldi, who was paid $139,000 a year until he was abruptly fired in October, is seeking a severance package totaling about $23,000 in wages lost because of his dismissal.

His attorney, David Finger, said the lawsuit also seeks unspecified damages, but is about more than money.

"His goal is not merely financial, but to let the truth out about the way New Castle County government is operating," Finger said.

Gordon did not respond Friday when contacted by The News Journal. County Attorney Bernard Pepukayi also said he declined to discuss the court filing, and county spokesman Tony Prado said there would be no public comment regarding the allegations.

The lawsuit comes as Gordon seeks a fourth term as county executive following speculation he may run for the Democratic nomination for governor in 2016. Grimaldi, after his firing, said he may run for county executive.

The 26-page document filed Thursday outlines the alleged inner workings of county politics and the executive office under Gordon, who in 2012 hired Grimaldi, then 34 and a political newcomer following a career in hospitality and finance. He was appointed to the No. 2 position in county government, overseeing 18 department heads.

Grimaldi, who also declined an interview request for this story, has described Gordon as a father figure and mentor, and the termination came as a surprise this fall, with both sides disputing what led to the action.

Grimaldi has said he was fired for confronting Gordon about county employees hiring family members and county Risk Manager Cheryl McDonaugh facing hostile workplace complaints.

Gordon has said Grimaldi caused inter-office fighting and that comments he made during a traffic stop in Elsmere prompted the firing. In a recording of the traffic stop obtained by The News Journal, Grimaldi can be heard telling the Elsmere police officer, "You know your mayor works for me.” Elsmere Mayor Steve Burg is an executive assistant for New Castle County government.

Gordon on Nov. 3 told The News Journal that Grimaldi "was clearly trying to influence the outcome of the stop. It was clearly improper to say that to the officer and try to call the mayor from the car. It is a series of things (that led to his firing), but that was the last straw."

Gordon in an October interview also said the firing was because of “a lot of differences of opinion.”

Elsmere police pull over David Grimaldi for driving with a suspended license Elsmere police pulled over former New Castle County Chief Administrative Officer David Grimaldi for driving with a suspended license in October. 11/2/15

The lawsuit says Gordon lied about why Grimaldi was terminated to smear his name, which constitutes a civil rights violation.

Central to the lawsuit's claims are county and state rules that aim to protect employees who report wrongdoing. County code bans firing or punishing an employee for reporting violations of law to an elected official. State law has a similar provision.

In the lawsuit, Grimaldi says Gordon misrepresented McDonaugh’s qualifications for her job, which oversees a five-person department handling workplace injury and insurance issues. The lawsuit asks the jury to require the county turn over McDonaugh's résumé after government attorneys denied to provide it to Grimaldi.

The lawsuit says “Gordon and McDonaugh shared a close personal relationship, which some have assumed to be a romantic one.” It is alleged McDonaugh mirrored his work hours, went to the doctor with him and worked for his campaign on county time, according to the court document. The lawsuit says the alleged relationship was used to bully other employees.

Additionally, the lawsuit alleges the relationship allowed McDonaugh to funnel county work to her friends as well as manipulate government hiring and contracting processes for her friends' benefit, and that Grimaldi reported alleged improprieties to Gordon without the executive taking action.

The lawsuit said McDonaugh had access to all county files, records and security cameras and was the only county employee with cable television in her office. It also claims she was verbally abusive to employees and that Gordon protected her from being disciplined.

According to the lawsuit, Grimaldi in a telephone call said: "Every day there is an incident with Cheryl (McDonaugh), but you defend her 100 percent because of your personal relationship. Gordon responded, ‘Hey, (expletive) you, Dave, you’re fired. You’re fired, Dave.”

The News Journal asked for the alleged workplace complaints against McDonaugh through the Freedom of Information Act, but the county rejected the request, saying the documents were not public record.

McDonaugh on Friday said she would not discuss the case.

"I have no comment. I will be happy to see Mr. Grimaldi in court," she said.

Grimaldi made similar claims in the days after his firing. At that time, McDonaugh labeled allegations against her "untrue" and "pathetic"

Grimaldi said he was fired when he questioned Gordon's defense of McDonaugh in the face of alleged hostile workplace complaints filed against her.

The complaint also alleges violations of county law by Gordon Chief of Staff James McDonald. The lawsuit says McDonald helped a family member receive a county contract and manipulated the county's hiring process to get his son a better job with the county. McDonald's son is currently an executive assistant in county government.

Grimaldi said he reported this to Gordon and attempted to investigate the matter himself.

"Gordon told Grimaldi to 'back off' of the investigation because Gordon 'always took care of people's family,'" the lawsuit states.

McDonald did not return a phone call seeking comment. Neither he or McDonaugh are named as defendants in the lawsuit.

Grimaldi claims pointing out the alleged wrongdoings "irritated" Gordon and led to his termination. Gordon has previously denied complaints of nepotism led to Grimaldi's firing.

The lawsuit also states Grimaldi's job was threatened because of the exercise of his First Amendment rights. The claim stems from “a rumor” that Grimaldi was helping Karen Hartley-Nagle prepare a campaign to unseat Council President Christopher Bullock in next year's elections.

The court filing alleges Bullock told Gordon he must fire Grimaldi if he was helping Hartley-Nagle. Grimaldi said Gordon then threatened to fire him if he was assisting Hartley-Nagle. Bullock did not return a phone call seeking comment.

"People have a constitutional right to support a political candidate of their choice," Finger said.

That right can be restricted for those working in government, but those restrictions pertain to supporting someone in an opposing political party. Both Bullock and Hartley-Nagle are Democrats.

"In this case, he was simply accused of supporting someone contrary to one individual, Council President (Christopher) Bullock," Finger said. "That goes beyond the acceptable limitations on the First Amendment freedom to exercise their political beliefs."

Following his firing, the lawsuit states, Gordon's administration silently retaliated against Grimaldi by withholding the government severance that typically goes to fired employees. The lawsuit also states Grimaldi's health benefits were terminated earlier than normal with the administration knowing he needed medical attention for pneumonia. He was also given no post-firing hearing through the county, the lawsuit states.

The lawsuit also references Gordon’s previous legal battles. Gordon's second term as executive was derailed by a federal corruption investigation centering on him and then-Chief Administrative Officer Sherry Freebery.

A racketeering and fraud indictment in 2004 included claims of having county employee perform political jobs on the clock and that the county settled a sexual harassment lawsuit to avoid public disclosure that included intimate relations between Gordon and Freebery, which Gordon has denied.

Ultimately, all felony charges against Gordon were dropped. In 2007, he pleaded guilty to two misdemeanor counts of not keeping adequate tax records for two employees. Gordon has called the case a "$20 million witch hunt."

Grimaldi had come to Delaware to run the Crowne Plaza Wilmington North on Naamans Road and previously was a financial adviser for Morgan Stanley in New York. He helped usher in Gordon’s return to New Castle County government following the corruption allegations.

The two claimed political victories like helping attract a proposed stock exchange to Wilmington and avoiding raising taxes. They also waged public wars against members of County Council and County Auditor Bob Wasserbach for what they considered a politically motivated audit of county investments.

Gordon called Grimaldi a "genius" in finance after he helped pull the county out of a recent budget deficit. Grimaldi looked up to Gordon as a political mastermind.

But things soured in October culminating with Grimaldi's firing. Grimaldi went on the offensive the day he was fired saying: "I put lipstick on that pig for three years. But it is a (expletive) pig."

The months since have seen Gordon trying to move on. After a barrage of insults from Grimaldi, Gordon was calm, saying he didn't want to "destroy" Grimaldi.

Gordon has since hired Tim Mullaney, longtime aide to the late Delaware Attorney General Beau Biden, as his new second-in-command and sought to bolster relationships with his critics on County Council.

Many of the lawsuit's allegations are built on statements made by county employees under Gordon and Grimaldi in recent months. Finger said the investigation will be "expansive."

"A jury will have to decide what actually happened, but we do have recordings and witnesses and expect to prevail," Finger said.

Contact Xerxes Wilson at (302) 324-2787 or xwilson@delawareonline.com. Follow @Ber_Xerxes on Twitter.