By Brian Wright | Casa Grande Dispatch
The specter of mass firings in the Pinal County Attorney’s Office continues to follow Lando Voyles.
Voyles, who took office as county attorney Dec. 29, fired about 25 percent of the employees in his department starting New Year’s Eve and continuing into the
following week in what has become known in the legal community as the “Pinal County Massacre.”
One of the people terminated was James McCormack, the former Attorney’s Office chief investigator. On Friday, McCormack filed a $535,000 notice of claim against
Voyles and Pinal County for wrongful termination. A notice of claim is required before a government entity can be sued.
The claim, filed by Casa Grande attorney Denis Fitzgibbons, says Chief Deputy Criminal Attorney Richard Wintory requested a Jan. 2 meeting with McCormack and told him his “services were no longer needed,” that he “did not fit into the team “ and said he did not care if McCormack was a merit-protected employee. Wintory allegedly told McCormack he was being fired.
Meanwhile, Voyles announced his office’s intent to transfer control of the county’s child support division to the state.
Conflicting views continue to be heard on whether the move is beneficial to the residents of Pinal County.
At last week’s meeting of the Pinal County Board of Supervisors, Supervisor Pete Rios of Dudleyville said the county child support division provided a valuable service, and he wasn’t convinced the state would be as effective in collecting payments.
“We’ve done a darn good job of collecting from those dead- beat parents,” he said.
In addition to helping children, Rios said the collection of child support also keeps families from having to apply for financial aid. He said he disapproved of the transfer of the office to the state.
