Mayor Anthony Staffieri literally raised his arms in victory Tuesday after a judge refused to restore Henry Domurad, Jr. as Derby’s finance director.
Judge Arthur Hiller ruled that a letter of resignation distributed by the mayor’s office in April was, in fact, signed by Domurad — and that Domurad knows it.
That “clouds” anything else Domurad claimed during Tuesday’s hearing, Hiller said.
“ … the court feels that, after examining all of the exhibits, there is no question that the signature on the resignation put into evidence is that of the plaintiff,” Judge Hiller said.
“Contrary to the plaintiff’s testimony, the court believes not only that the signature on defendant’s Exhibit A is his, but also that he knows it is. His denial puts a cloud on all the remainder of the plaintiff’s testimony.”
A copy of the judge’s decision is posted on the bottom of this article.
Domurad is suing Mayor Anthony Staffieri for wrongful termination. Judge Hiller did not rule on the merits of the larger case, which Domurad’s lawyer said could continue.
Instead, Tuesday’s “show cause” hearing was only to determine whether Domurad had the right to continue working as finance director while his lawsuit works through the system.
However, Judge Hiller did not find Domuard credible, which presumably vastly weakens his case against the mayor.
Domurad’s lawsuit claims Staffieri fired him without cause in April and that the mayor’s office circulated a fraudulent letter of resignation to cover up the fact Domurad was fired. Domurad said he had never signed the letter distributed by the mayor’s office.
Outside court Tuesday, Staffieri said he was vindicated.
“For people to say that I would forge (a signature), stoop that low,” Staffieri said outside court.
Domurad’s resignation letter is posted below. Article continues after the document.
Staffieri then demanded a formal apology from Democratic Aldermen Ron Sill and Carmen DiCenso, and unaffiliated Alderman Art Gerckens, whom he accused of playing “party politics.”
“And now it has been proved that Mr. Domurad lied about everything,” Staffieri said.
See the video above for the mayor’s full comments.
In an e‑mail late Tuesday, Sill, the president of the Board of Aldermen, said the Aldermen simply wanted more information on what transpired between Domurad and Staffieri’s administration.
He compared Staffieri’s reaction to the O.J. Simpson verdict.
“Sometimes things happen and people luck out,” Sill wrote. “But on this case it’s only half over. The Alderman just wanted an answer as to what happened. No one was looking for Henry getting his job back.”
Staffieri’s Testimony
The testimony of Staffieri and Phil Robertson, the mayor’s chief administrative assistant, shed new light on the finance director’s letter of resignation — but lacked certain specifics, including dates.
Click here for a collection of videos featuring testimony from Tuesday’s hearing.
Under questioning by Domurad’s lawyer, John Gesmonde, Staffieri acknowledged that Staffieri had received Domurad’s letter of resignation sometime prior to April 12, the day when Domurad was removed from office.
Gesmonde tried to ascertain whether Domurad signed a resignation letter before being officially hired in October 2008 — a move that could have rendered any letter invalid, according to Gesmonde.
Staffieri first testified he could not remember when he received Domurad’s resignation letter, including the year it was received.
However, upon further questioning later in the day Tuesday, he narrowed it down to a five-to-six month period prior to January 1, 2012.
Staffieri testified that Domurad — who the mayor recommended be hired in 2008 and whose appointment was approved by the Board of Aldermen — was never qualified to take the job, as per the qualifications spelled out in the Derby Charter.
Staffieri said Domurad was supposed to obtain the specific qualifications, which include a MBA, but never did so.
“There was an understanding between Mr. Domurad and I,” Staffieri said from the witness stand. “When he was first hired, (he) wasn’t and still isn’t qualified for the job.”
A three-year contract — the original signed copy of which was lost by the city and of which Domurad claimed he never received a copy — expired in November 2011.
Staffieri said in the months leading up to April, he had told Domurad that if he didn’t fulfill the Charter requirements to be finance director, he could not continue on the job.
At some point not specified during his testimony, Staffieri said Domurad produced the letter of resignation and gave it to him.
“He signed it in front of me and I told him, I says ‘I’ll hold onto it, but you need to get your certification,’” Staffieri said.
On April 12, the mayor told Domurad in a meeting with Robertson that “it wasn’t working out.”
“It finally came to a point where he wasn’t doing it. He wasn’t achieving his goals, so I accepted his letter,” Staffieri said.
The letter of resignation was not dated.
The video below contains the first part of Staffieri’s testimony, during which he explains the resignation letter.
Domurad Testifies
Domurad said on the witness stand Tuesday that he had signed a letter of resignation — but it was not the one circulated by the mayor’s office in April.
Domurad said he signed a different letter of resignation, one that he had been required to sign in advance of getting the job.
However, no one produced a copy of that letter.
Domurad testified that he signed a letter of resignation on Oct. 15, 2008 — a few days before his hiring was approved by the Derby Board of Aldermen.
On that day, Robertson, the mayor’s aide, visited him at his home, Domurad testified, with a “pre-written letter of resignation.”
“He (Robertson) said that the mayor had a reservation about me being disruptive in the future because I’m a Democrat and the mayor’s a Republican. He wanted a letter,” Domurad testified.
That letter’s content cited “political differences” as the reason for the resignation, not the “personal reasons” cited in the letter distributed in April 2012 by the mayor’s office.
Robertson Testifies
Robertson, the mayor’s aide, acknowledged going to Domurad’s house in 2008, but disputed Domurad’s contention that he had Domurad sign a resignation letter before he was hired.
Robertson said he told Domurad there could come a day when Staffieri would ask him to sign a letter of resignation.
“Let’s not mince words here,” Gesmonde, Domurad’s lawyer, said to Robertson. “Did you ask him to sign a letter, which for certain reason . .”
Robertson interrupted. “No,” he said.
“I told him, as I recall, that he may be asked … that he consider signing a letter of resignation,” Robertson said.
“And this is in September . . ?” Gesmonde began to ask.
“No, I don’t remember when the conversation … I believe it was later than September,” Robertson said.
“You didn’t ask him to sign a letter?” Gesmonde asked.
“No,” Robertson said, shaking his head.
James Streeter, a handwriting expert hired by Derby to examine Domurad’s signature on the resignation letter he swore under oath he did not sign, testified that it matched 45 other samples of Domurad’s handwriting.
Street indicated he was 100 percent certain the signature on the letter was not forged — and that it was an original signature placed on the paper.
However, in the end, Judge Hiller, citing other case law regarding handwriting experts, said he could not take Streeter’s testimony into account.
Nevertheless, it didn’t hurt Staffieri’s defense. Almost immediately after saying he wouldn’t consider Streeter’s testimony, Judge Hiller ruled in favor of Staffieri, saying he simply did not believe Domurad.
A want ad to find a new Derby director of finance is scheduled to be circulated this week.
Domurad had been poised to receive a $53,000 out-of-court settlement as part of a deal negotiated by the lawyers involved in the case. However, the Derby Board of Aldermen voted twice to reject the out-of-court settlement.
As of Wednesday, July 4, there were no future court dates scheduled for the lawsuit.
