Akram Boutros

A Cuyahoga County judge has dismissed claims of retaliation and intimidation filed in a lawsuit against MetroHealth by its former leader Dr. Akram Boutros.

The MetroHealth System has suspended the extra bonus program at the center of a scandal that has rocked the county’s safety net hospital and resulted in the firing of its former CEO. The current CEO also assured the Cuyahoga County Council that taxpayer money is being spent properly.

MetroHealth has released the findings of a third-party audit of its finances in the wake of the bonus scandal that has rocked Cuyahoga County's safety-net hospital since its CEO was fired in November.

MetroHealth’s Chief Financial Officer (CFO) Craig Richmond has resigned, the hospital system confirmed Wednesday. A hospital spokesperson did not say whether Richmond's departure was related to the bonus scandal that has rocked Cuyahoga County's safety net hospital since November.

The MetroHealth System board responded in court Friday to a lawsuit filed by the hospital system’s former CEO Dr. Akram Boutros that asserts he was improperly fired after the hospital board falsely accused him of awarding himself unauthorized bonuses.

On Monday, MetroHealth responded in court to accusations by the hospital system’s former CEO Dr. Akram Boutros that it violated Ohio’s Open Meetings Act when it fired him and that it retaliated against him after he challenged the board for what he says were other transparency law violations.

The state auditor’s Special Investigations Unit said it has opened an investigation into bonuses paid to former MetroHealth CEO Dr. Akram Boutros.

This past year's top stories included area coverage that made national news, global stories that had local impact, and of course, sports headlines. This is Ohio, after all.

Dr. Akram Boutros, the fired CEO of the MetroHealth System, has filed a second lawsuit against the hospital's board of trustees, claiming breach of contract, retaliation and intimidation.

Terry Monnolly, co-founder of DiGioia-Suburban Excavating in North Royalton, has resigned from the MetroHealth board amid the controversy surrounding the firing of former CEO Dr. Akram Boutros.