Former Monticello mayor justifies controversial hire

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MONTICELLO – Former Monticello Mayor Gary Sommers says he did nothing wrong when he hired ex-police officer Yermi Solomon to a police dispatcher’s post in his final days as mayor.

The new village board fired Sommers who was hired as interim village manager after he was defeated by new Mayor George Nikolados.

Solomon pled guilty to a misdemeanor when he was a police officer, but Sommers said that did not preclude him from qualifying for his new job.

“He took the test, he was qualified, he was hired for that. I just hired someone who was qualified for a position we needed to fill. I believe this entire thing has been mishandled by the current mayor, mishandled by the current trustees portraying this as more than it is,” he said.

Sommers said his termination as village manager because of the hiring of Solomon tarnishes his reputation and he will consider taking legal action against the village officials.




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