SYRACUSE, N.Y. (WSYR-TV) — When notorious killers had to be put away, it’s been Rob Moran to prosecute them. But once Moran became interested in running for the top job, he heard from current DA Bill Fitzpatrick.
“And I called him. I said, ‘This can’t be true. I was 100% sure he was gonna say, ‘Boss, you know I’m loyal to you. If you decide not to run, I’d like to run someday,” said Onondaga County District Attorney Bill Fitzpatrick during an exclusive interview with NewsChannel 9 on why he fired Moran.
Now, “someday” turned into now, so Fitzpatrick fired him. “He said he’s running. He wants to stay until January to get his things together. I said, “No, you can stay till 5 o’clock this afternoon; you’re gone,” said Fitzpatrick.
While the firing may have raised some eyebrows, it also raises a legal question. Can you really fire someone without warning? In New York, the answer can be yes. “I have union employees who are civil service. There’s a process involved in that. Assistant DAs serve at my pleasure. There’s a very simple process. If I want them gone, they’re gone,” said Fitzpatrick.
This fact an outside legal expert in employment confirmed. Michael Macomber, Partner and CEO at Tully Rinckey PLLC, said, “If I were to take both sides of the equation, the District Attorney’s Office is gonna argue that he was terminated, he’s an at-will or an MC, and that’s why they wanted to fire him; the chief assistant could try and argue some kind of politically motivated discrimination. It’s a very, very hard lot approved, but I think there are some real indications that that might be coming into play here.”
Rob Moran tells NewsChannel 9 that he agrees the DA had the right to fire him, and plans to talk more about his credentials for the job soon.
Fitzpatrick says his decision was about the office, not his opponent. “Am I bothered by the disloyalty? Yes… That goes to your character. I brought you back at your request, and then you betrayed me,” said Fitzpatrick. A firing, he says, is rare in his 35 years. Now, he’s trying to get to forty years at District Attorney. But it’s up to the voters.
