Former deputy chief DiPietro to get $75K in settlement

In a split vote, the Miami Twp. trustees settled a wrongful termination lawsuit Tuesday night with former Deputy Chief John DiPietro.

The trustees voted 2-1 to pay DiPietro $75,000: $50,000 from township funds with the rest to be paid from the Ohio Twp. Association risk Management Pool, according to the agreement and a resolution approved by the trustees.

The agreement, approved after an executive session Tuesday, includes a clause agreeing not "to publicly disparage or make derogatory comments" on the settlement. Trustees Mike Nolan and Charlie Lewis, who voted for the agreement, declined to comment afterward.

"This investigation was mishandled from the beginning," said Trustee Deborah Preston, who voted against the agreement. "We should not be paying out precious tax money."

DiPietro offered a few words after the meeting.

"I'd certainly like to tell more of the story here on what has transpired over the last 15 months," he said after the meeting, but he declined to comment further because of the agreement between the two sides.

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