George Gandy and Brennan Somers
2 months ago
ROCHESTER, N.Y. (WROC) — A former city employee of Greece has filed a lawsuit against several city officials, accusing them of unpaid work and retaliation.
Bobby Johnson worked for the city for more than 30 years, including as deputy commissioner of public works.
In the lawsuit, Johnson alleges that when Bill Reilich took over as city supervisor in 2014, he changed Johnson’s job duties to include unpaid work for the city, working on cars at the “Hot Rod Ranch.” of Reilich, Personal Affairs and the Monroe County Republican Party. .
Johnson then said that when he asked his supervisor Kirk Morris to intervene, Reilich and Deputy Supervisor Michelle Marini retaliated by rescinding his raise and removing his supervisory duties.
It was further alleged that after Johnson retired and no longer worked at the ranch, Morris, Marini and Reilich refused to enroll him in retiree health insurance.
Johnson said Reilich and Marini “orchestrated this unprecedented abuse of power, from defining the job to developing plans to cover up wrongdoing.”
News 8 reached out to Supervisor Reilich for a response to the lawsuit and he said he was unaware of the lawsuit:
“I am completely unaware of any of this. To my knowledge, nothing has been reported.
Based on the name of the firm you just mentioned, this would be the same lawyer who represents other disgruntled employees: she takes bad cases to court, then publishes them in the media to try to get easy payments. We will not accept people who try to obtain money and benefits to which they are not entitled. It’s a shame because they’re wasting taxpayers’ resources.”
News 8 also contacted the Monroe County District Attorney’s Office, and prosecutor Sandra Doorley said she was aware of the allegations:
“We have been made aware of certain allegations against the Town of Greece Supervisor and other members of the Town of Greece administration. We will not make any further comment on the investigation at this time. »
As part of the lawsuit, Johnson is seeking millions of dollars in back pay, benefits and other damages.
