Ansonia officials are asking a judge to make a local lawyer give back files from the city’s Water Pollution Control Authority they say he’s kept for more than a year.
The lawyer, John F.X. Androski, represented the WPCA for more than a decade, but was replaced in a series of changes in local government after David Cassetti was elected mayor.
Androski says he was fired because of age discrimination. He filed a complaint against the WPCA with the state’s Commission on Human Rights and Opportunities last year, which is still pending.
The city maintains WPCA members merely opted not to renew Androski’s contract.
In a complaint filed May 15 at Superior Court in Milford, the city’s corporation counsel, John Marini, said that Androski has not returned the WPCA’s files despite repeated attempts for him to do so.
According to the complaint, the WPCA hired lawyer Joseph Coppola last summer to get the files back.
In July, Coppola left Androski two voicemails and sent him a letter asking for the files but never heard back, the complaint says.
In February, the WPCA asked Marini for help.
Marini sent Androski a letter a month later asking for the files, but didn’t get a reply.
About two weeks later, the complaint says Marini called Androski by phone.
“During their telephone conversation Attorney Androski confirmed that he did have WPCA files in his possession and that he would ‘think about’ setting a date to transfer the files to the City of Ansonia,” the complaint says.
The city allegedly hasn’t heard back.
Marini said the city just wants the files back.
“There’s probably at least two trucks’ worth of files,” he said.
A hearing in the case is scheduled for June 16 at 9:30 a.m. at Superior Court in Milford.
Androski Responds
Androski said last week that he had not yet been served with the complaint.
“A sheriff called me … saying he’s got a writ,” Androski said. “That’s as much as I know.”
The lawyer said the city still hasn’t paid a bill for about $1,200 in legal work he did for the WPCA during the transition from former Mayor James Della Volpe’s administration to current Mayor David Cassetti’s.
He said he met with Cassetti and Nunzio Parente, the WPCA chairman, who Cassetti appointed in January 2014.
“I met with them and they wanted to go over certain files. I brought the files to them. We went over all the files,” Androski said. “Then I basically said ‘Can we make arrangements to do the rest of the files?’ They sent me a letter (saying) they were not interested.”
Androski said he’s not withholding the files because the city hasn’t paid his bill — he said he doesn’t want to just turn the files over without being allowed to make copies of them, which would cost time and money.
“If they want the files turned over, then there’s going to have to be some kind of procedure,” he said.
