LAWRENCE — Fired city employee William Castro filed another lawsuit against the city claiming he was terminated as he investigated possible grant abuse and to satisfy the demands of City Councilor Greg Delrosario.
Castro, who was Mayor Brian DePena’s chief of staff, was fired April 2 after an audio-taping scandal at City Hall.
The lawsuit, filed this week in Essex Superior Court, names the city, DePena and Delrosario, city councilor for District C.
City attorney Tim Houten declined comment, saying he had not seen the lawsuit yet.
The lawsuit alleges Delrosario defamed Castro by threatening DePena, saying if Castro wasn’t fired the mayor would face “severe public consequences,” according to the suit.
The consequences DePena would face would be a vote of no confidence from the City Council, a recall against DePena and disruption of the fiscal year 2027 budget which passed in June, according to the lawsuit.
Delrosario also said Castro was the “common denominator” in lawsuits against the city, and criticized Castro on social media, according to Castro’s lawsuit.
As chief of staff, Castro said he was working to review “worrisome grant mismanagement” that cost the city $500,000, according to the lawsuit.
A political ally of DePena, Castro worked as DePena’s chief of staff and acting Lawrence police chief.
Castro was permanently stripped of his policing credentials by a state agency that oversees policing qualifications. He has filed a lawsuit appealing that decision.
He also filed lawsuits after he was fired by DePena in April. His termination came after video and audio of Castro and Lawrence Airport Director Francisco Urena speaking outside DePena’s office at City Hall was made public.
It’s illegal in Massachusetts to secretly record or wiretap an in-person or telephone conversation without the consent of everyone involved. Violating the law is a felony, according to the state’s general laws.
Castro previously filed a lawsuit against the city claiming he was secretly recorded at City Hall while working for DePena and terminated, in part, because he was Puerto Rican.
That lawsuit said Castro was interviewed and shared information with “licensed investigators retained by the city” on April 7, which was five days after he was fired.
DePena hired Amesbury-based Cooney Investigations and Executive Security to conduct an independent probe. It remains unclear what the scope of the investigation is and how much it cost.
The recording issue is being investigated by Attorney General Andrea Campbell’s office.
Castro filed another civil lawsuit claiming he wasn’t fully and correctly paid when he was fired on April 2.
He was paid $210,000 annually as acting police chief compared with $145,600 as chief of staff, city records show.
Castro is also the target of a harassment and wrongful termination lawsuit filed by the city’s former planning and development director; and several pending harassment and retaliation complaints filed by the Lawrence police superior officers’ union.
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