The former head of the embattled Livingston County Veterans Services has filed a lawsuit against the county and the head of the committee that oversees the department.

Adam Smiddy was fired by a 4-1 vote of the Livingston County Veterans Services Committee on August 27th. No official reason was provided for his termination by either the committee or county officials. However, Smiddy has maintained his firing was the direct result of his efforts to determine exactly what happened to cash and other items donated to the department by a local resident who said she could not obtain a receipt despite repeated attempts to do so.

His lawsuit, filed November 21st in Livingston County Circuit Court, also names Hansel Keene, the chair of the veterans committee. In it, Smiddy says he was contacted August 22nd by a resident who said she written a $400 check to Keene in October of 2017 and made other donations including vacuum cleaners and a riding lawnmower. She said she had repeatedly asked Keene for a receipt, but he had not provided one and requested Smiddy’s help to get it.

Smiddy says the following day he made Livingston County Administrator Ken Hinton aware of the complaint and that he suspected Keene has misappropriated the donations. He says Hinton advised him to obtain a copy of the check from the donor. Smiddy says he then contacted Keene, who admitted cashing the check but only using $125 of it for a plaque, while “retaining the balance.” Keene also reportedly said he had “scrapped” the lawnmower and kept the floor cleaners in his garage. Smiddy says he informed Keene he needed to provide a copy of the deposit slip, a receipt for the scrapped lawnmower and return the cleaners. But Smiddy was fired by the committee four days later, he says in retaliation for his efforts to determine exactly what happened to the donation.

Smiddy claims his firing was a violation of the Whistleblower’s Protection Act and demands he be reinstated to his position, awarded lost wages as well as damages and attorney fees. He also says his firing was a violation of Michigan Public Policy, which protects public employees from termination for “refusal to violate the law” and for reporting “violations of the standards of conduct for public officers and employees.”

The suit, which asks for a jury trial, is assigned to Judge Michael Hatty with a status conference scheduled for May 7th and a trial date set for November 12th of 2019. When contacted for comment on the lawsuit, Smiddy told WHMI that it spoke for itself. Hinton said he had not yet seen the lawsuit.

Meanwhile, a State Police investigation has been completed into the donations. Livingston County Prosecutor Bill Vailliencourt says his office has received the report from the Michigan State Police, but could not give a time frame on when a decision will be made on whether or not charges will be filed in the case.

As to the missing cash donation, a check for $400 was eventually provided to the donor’s attorney by the law firm of Kevin Nagle, a fellow member of the veterans committee, who said he was representing Mr. Keene. Documents obtained by WHMI through a Freedom of Information Act request indicated Nagle received seven disbursements made from the Veterans Services Relief Fund to either himself or his law firm between May of 2016 and February of 2017 totaling $4,900. While the payments were ostensibly for veteran-related legal representation, they raised questions about the propriety of a committee member receiving payments approved by a committee that he sits on.

Smiddy’s position was recently filled by Mary Durst of Brighton, a Coast Guard veteran, whose appointment by the committee was unanimously ratified earlier this month by the Livingston County Board of Commissioners. (JK)