YOUNGSTOWN — A former Poland Township road worker, who was fired in 2017 after allegations that he stole “road grindings” from the road department, has refiled a civil suit against the township.

Raymond Beatty of Calla Road refiled the suit Sunday in Mahoning County Common Pleas Court, naming as defendants township trustees Eric Ungaro and Joanne Wollett and former trustee Robert Lidle, as well as officers with the Poland Township Police Department.

Ungaro said this week of the refiled suit: “I feel pretty comfortable we did the best we could for (Beatty) and for the township.”

Beatty, 31, first filed a similar suit in May 2018, alleging the township defamed him for statements made regarding the allegations. But Beatty dismissed the suit last May through his attorney, Mark Lavelle. Judge R. Scott Krichbaum presided over the case.

The refiled suit alleges the trustees unlawfully terminated Beatty from his job. He seeks at least $25,000 in damages, reinstatement to his job and lost wages. The refiled case is assigned to Judge Anthony Donofrio.

Township trustee minutes from the first case indicate the trustees fired Beatty in October 2017 for “being guilty of misconduct in the form of malfeasance.”

The minutes state that Beatty was placed on administrative leave with pay Sept. 13, 2017, regarding allegations that surfaced in an investigation by the Poland Township Police Department.

The refiled suit, also filed by Lavelle, states the criminal charge police filed against Beatty in Struthers Municipal Court was later dismissed.

Visiting Judge David Fuhr dismissed the charge against Beatty on Dec. 5, 2017, according to online Struthers Municipal Court records.

erunyan@tribtoday.com