DELRAY BEACH, Fla. — During a virtual meeting Monday, Delray Beach commissioners leveled more than half-a-dozen written charges against suspended City Manager George Gretsas.
"The uncovering of what we have found here is just mind-blowing to me," Mayor Shelly Petrolia said.
Gretsas was removed with cause in June after an outside investigation concluded that he violated city policy for bullying and retaliation.
Gretsas claims attempts to terminate his employment and smear him are retaliation for "exposing corrupt activities" in the city.
The city now contends Gretsas "engaged in numerous instances of misconduct" that warrant his termination.
Among them, the city claims he installed a private network that lacked oversight and violated public records laws. The memorandum contends he gave a city contractor unrestricted access to criminal data servers without following Florida Department of Law Enforcement regulations. They also accuse Gretsas of not cooperating with the investigation into allegations made by a co-worker.
Gretsas, who's the sixth city manager since 2013, has collected more than $40,000 in pay since being suspended.
On the phone during the meeting, his attorney, Carmen Rodriguez, called the charges administrative issues.
"You don't fire a city manager over this and you don't -- certainly, certainly don't -- defame and slander the man the way the way this has played out," she said. "This investigation was an open-ended fishing expedition."
The city and Gretsas will have a hearing in 60 days.
Gretsas sent Contact 5 the following statement:
"The city continues to defame me, violate my rights to due process and retaliate against me for exposing wrongdoing. The commissioners' own conflicting statements made clear that the facts mean nothing and this is all predetermined."