Friday, July 20, 2018
Staff report
WARREN
City employee Dennis Griffing signed off on a settlement agreement Wednesday that calls for termination from his job in the operations department if he’s convicted in Warren Municipal Court of the theft of a lawn mower from work.
Griffing, 57, of King’s Drive, pleaded not guilty to petty theft June 15. His next hearing is 10:15 a.m. Wednesday before Judge Thomas Gysegem.
Griffing was charged after authorities determined he took a lawn mower home from the operations department on Main Avenue Southwest that was inadvertently left there instead of taken to a police storage facility.
The mower was in the city’s possession because it had been recovered after having been stolen.
The agreement says the city filed administrative charges of theft and gross misconduct against Griffing. A pre-disciplinary hearing was June 22, and the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees asked for his discipline to be held in abeyance until his criminal charge is resolved.
While the city acknowledges there is a presumption of innocence, “the [administrative] charges against Griffing are egregious enough to warrant termination,” the agreement says.