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A New Castle County council member wants the Attorney General’s office to look into the circumstances behind the termination and traffic stop involving former Chief Administrative Officer David Grimaldi.
Grimaldi was fired a week ago by County Executive Tom Gordon, with Gordon claiming that Grimaldi attempted to use his influence and relationship with Elsmere Mayor and former county co-worker Steve Burg.
Grimaldi responded with an audio tape, in which the mayor reported offered to “fix” the ticket over a suspended license resulting from the failure to pay a fine in Maryland.
Council member Lisa Diller will ask the council to pass a resolution calling for the investigation by the state. The matter will be taken up in executive session next week, before the council meeting.
Diller, a former pastor who represents the Newark area on the council, said an agency with the resources and powers of the AG’s office was needed in an effort to get to the bottom of the case and come up with the “bigger picture.”
While the matter, with its profanity-laden conversations and personal attacks, has taken on a comical and perhaps soap opera-like quality, Diller said the situation does not reflect well on the reputation of the county as a place to work, life and do business.
Grimaldi had been credited in some quarters with help Gordon improve the county’s business climate.
Gordon rode into his third term on a wave of anti-development sentiment regarding the former Barley Mill Plaza property sold by DuPont to Stoltz. Neighbors were upset over plans for a mixed-use center with retail stores.
Diller said the council should not do its own probe, given the many questions over personal information and a lack of resources needed to investigate the matter.
One question that needs to be answered is whether Grimaldi’s driving record and other information was obtained through legal channels, Diller said
Diller has been at odds with the Gordon administration and the council on occasion, one recent example being a vote to give county employees a one-time bonus. This comes despite the fact that under the county pay system, workers get 5 percent pay increases during their first 10 years of employment. The vote passed council.
Earlier, she claimed that the council’s two female members were being excluded from some information.
The step pay has been known to lead to paychecks that are higher than comparable state positions, critics charge. It has also been viewed as an unsustainable policy that will eventually lead to property tax increases.
Council members said the system had left some long-time staffers without raises.
Until now, council members have been quiet regarding the issue, perhaps in hopes of the dust settling over what Gordon has described as a personnel matter.
Both Grimaldi and Gordon have strong personalities that at time led to clashes with council.
