Walter chose to challenge the restitution amount of $4,266.43 set by the city.
Municipal Court Magistrate Gary Zuhl was scheduled to hear evidence on that challenge Thursday.
Instead, an agreement was reached earlier in the day to dismiss the restitution, defense lawyer Jose Lopez of Troy and Lenee Brosh, a municipal prosecutor, both said.
By early afternoon Friday, the issue was being revisited after the city objected to a dismissal.
“We will be continuing to pursue restitution as part of the case’s disposition,” said Patrick Titterington, city service and safety director. He said the amount of restitution ordered was not considered insubstantial by the city.
Grant Kerber, assistant city law director, said he checked into the restitution issue Friday after hearing from city leaders. Kerber said he was gathering information on what happened, but it appeared a “miscommunication” or “information lapse” resulted in prosecutors not having information needed.
No paper work had been signed so a meeting of prosecutors, a city representative and Lopez will be held to decide how to proceed, Kerber said. If a resolution cannot be reached, a restitution hearing can be rescheduled, he said.
“At this point the matter is still under discussion and we will reach a resolution in the future,” Lopez said Friday.
Walter, 66, resigned from the operations superintendent job in November 2012 following the execution of a search warrant at his office at the city Maintenance Facility on Experiment Farm Road.
He later pleaded no contest to misdemeanor unauthorized use of property. The money from scrap sales was used for purposes such as employee celebrations and to subsidize a department pop machine.
Lopez said there was never any evidence that Walter enriched himself by his actions.
About the Author