BAZETTA Veteran fireman sues the trustees
The suit alleges that Capt. Dennis Lewis has been singled out.
By PEGGY SINKOVICH
VINDICATOR TRUMBULL STAFF
BAZETTA -- A township firefighter has filed a $4.5 million lawsuit against township trustees, alleging they have harassed him.
Capt. Dennis Lewis of Sterling Drive filed the lawsuit earlier this week in U.S. District Court in Youngstown. A hearing date has not been set.
Trustee William Glancy declined to comment. Trustees Michael Piros and Marcal Arnal could not be reached to comment.
The suit contends that the trustees have singled Lewis out and unfairly targeted him.
Use of vehicle: The suit says that on Dec. 27, Lewis, a 12-year employee, used a department vehicle to take items to a dance studio, where his child was in a recital. Lewis took one hour of vacation time to complete the delivery.
The suit adds that other employees have been allowed to borrow department property for personal use.
Criminal probe: On Jan. 3, Glancy, Piros and Arnal ordered the township police department to conduct a criminal investigation into Lewis' use of the department vehicle, the suit says. The investigation found no criminal conduct.
"No person other than Lewis has been made the subject of a criminal investigation based solely on the use of department property for personal purposes," the suit states.
According to the suit, Glancy, Piros and Arnal questioned Lewis in February 1998 about unauthorized phone calls made on a department telephone. Other employees of the department were on duty at the time but were not questioned about the telephone calls.
Proper dress: The suit alleges that the trustees wanted to discipline Lewis for not being properly dressed when he arrived at a fire in March 2000. Lewis noted that he and his partner put on the proper clothes as soon as they exited the firetruck. The suit adds that even though Lewis' partner also was not properly dressed, trustees wanted to discipline only Lewis.
The suit does not say if Lewis was disciplined, and Lewis could not be reached to comment.