The Akron Metro RTA trustees fired Executive Director Richard Enty Friday afternoon. He’s been on paid administrative leave since November while investigations into his conduct on the job have been underway.
During a special meeting, the trustees voted 8-1, with one abstention, to terminate Richard Enty’s contract. They were unanimous in declining comment on reasons for the firing.
The board’s legal counsel, Karen Adinolfi, says members will likely take up the discussion of recruiting a new executive director at their next regular meeting, Jan. 30th.
Until a successor is found, she says Finance Director Angela Neely will remain acting director.
Enty was named executive director in 2012. He's been suspended three times. In the past year, he has been investigated for alleged policy breaches in his treatment of employees, and possible ethics violations. Results of those investigations have not been made public.
Enty's attorney, Ed Gilbert, has said Enty's been unfairly targeted by other employees who wanted his job.
Enty intimated to the Beacon Journal that race may have been a factor in the firing, saying, "There’s a number people who are just not used to a strong African-American leader, and that’s the troubling aspect of this.”
