Jersey Metropolis attorneys need a decide to dismiss new claims in a lawsuit filed by an worker who was fired final 12 months throughout a dust-up over his sister’s controversial marketing campaign to change into Missouri’s secretary of state.
Jonathan Gomez Noriega, a former aide to Mayor Steve Fulop, has made new allegations that his firing was in half as a result of he blew the whistle on what Gomez Noriega calls Fulop’s “improper” push to make investments retirement funds in cryptocurrency. Attorneys for Fulop and the town known as these allegations “completely threadbare and implausible.”
“Below even essentially the most liberal building, the actions Plaintiff describes don’t represent protected ‘whistleblowing exercise,’” metropolis attorneys wrote in a 65-page brief filed last week.
Fulop, a Democrat, has mentioned Gomez Noriega was fired as a result of he supported his sister’s “controversial political marketing campaign.” Valentina Gomez, who is understood for her anti-LGBTQ+ stances and rhetoric attacking undocumented immigrants, misplaced her election in Missouri final 12 months and now says she is looking for a Home seat in Texas.
The federal decide overseeing Gomez Noriega’s go well with in April dismissed 4 of the unique six counts, then allowed Gomez Noriega to amend his complaint over the town’s objections. The brand new allegations declare Fulop improperly made a “unilateral” announcement to make investments metropolis retirement funds in cryptocurrency with out informing members of the board overseeing the retirement system.
Gomez Noriega’s new criticism notes that Fulop and an excellent PAC supporting his failed bid to change into governor this 12 months acquired $77,000 from the vice chairman of a cryptocurrency buying and selling platform. The marketing campaign donations “would possibly moderately be anticipated to impair (Fulop’s) goal or independence of judgment,” the brand new criticism says, and will represent a breach of state ethics regulation.
Fulop’s staff calls these allegations “nonsensical.” Fulop’s announcement was merely that the town was updating the paperwork it wanted to make investments in Bitcoin funds, not that there can be investments in cryptocurrencies, metropolis attorneys say.
Additionally they notice that the political contributions had been revamped an eight-year interval, and Gomez Noriega gives no allegations that “would possibly recommend that these donations had a corrupting affect on Mayor Fulop.”
“That’s precisely the form of unsubstantiated logical leap that federal courts routinely object,” attorneys mentioned in the submitting.
An lawyer for Gomez Noriega didn’t instantly reply to a request for remark.
Republished courtesy of New Jersey Monitor, which is a part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit information community supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. New Jersey Monitor maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Terrence T. McDonald for questions: info@newjerseymonitor.com.
