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YOUNGSTOWN — The Mahoning County commissioners and their county administrator have reached a tentative settlement in the lawsuit filed against them by a county maintenance worker.
Ricky Morrison alleged he was fired last year for supporting the general-election opponent of Commissioner Carol Rimedio Righetti.
Details of the settlement are not being released, such as the settlement amount and terms.
Documents in the case in U.S. District Court state that Commissioners Rimedio Righetti, David Ditzler and Anthony Traficanti and Administrator Audrey Tillis and their attorneys held negotiations with Morrison and his attorneys last Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday, resulting in a tentative agreement on Friday.
In total, the parties, including lawyers for the countyás insurance company, met for 10 hours last week.
âThe agreement should be kept confidential and is not to be publicly disclosed until the final agreement is executed,ã according to a judgment entry from Magistrate Carmen Henderson in Youngstown federal court. The final agreement is to be completed within 60 days, the entry states.
Morrison filed the federal civil rights lawsuit against the county commissioners and Tillis in late December, alleging he was improperly fired. The suit alleged intimidation, bribery, telecommunications fraud, interference with civil rights, dereliction of duty, failure to report crimes and violating the state’s open meetings act.
When contacted Monday, Ditzler, Traficanti and attorney Martin Desmond, who represents Morrison, said they would not comment on the tentative agreement, though Ditzler clarified that the countyás insurance company is responsible for any settlement amounts, not the county.
Tillis and Rimedio Righetti could not be reached Monday, a federal holiday, and Gina DeGenova, county prosecutor, said her office “is in no way involved in this matter. I was dismissed from this matter, and the remaining defendants have their own counsel.”
Read MORE in Tuesday’s VINDICATOR