City manager suspended and gears up to sue city

Hamtramck City Manager Max Garbarino

By Charles Sercombe
In an emotionally charged city council meeting on Tuesday, City Manager Max Garbarino didn’t stand a chance.
After an angry exchange between Garbarino and Mayor Amer Ghalib, the city manager was placed on administrative leave with pay.
And Garbarino wasted no time in getting a lawyer the next day to prepare a lawsuit.
His attorney, Jonathan Marko, told Fox 2 News that Garbarino’s lawsuit will be “big.”
“When you let it be known about illegalities like Max did, he’s a whistleblower,” said Marko.
The reason for his suspension is based on anonymous accusations of wrongdoings that were posted on social media, and separate accusations by Police Chief Jamiel Altaheri.
Garbarino was suspended a week after he suspended Police Chief Altaheri and a department investigator.
City hall has turned out to be a tangled web of personnel clashes, not only between the city manager and police chief, but also the city council and mayor.
In other words, it’s a mess.
Let’s return with the latest development of the city manager.
Garbarino says the allegations of wrongdoing are “spurious,” and based on a lack of “understanding our city charter, or our system of municipal government.”
He repeatedly characterized the allegations as “stupid.”
Mayor Amer Ghalib insisted that Garbarino be suspended just like Police Chief Altaheri and department investigator, Dave Adamczyk, since they are now also under investigation.
Ghalib said Garbarino should be included because he is “part of the issue.”
Police Chief Altaheri had been under an internal investigation by Adamczyk, and the chief is now being alleged to have played a role in transporting a stolen vehicle, arranging a presidential pardon for a convicted New York financier, domestic abuse and other allegations.
Altaheri has denied the allegations, and welcomes an investigation by the FBI.
The FBI is reportedly now handling the investigation, although that agency has not yet confirmed their involvement, and generally do not comment on ongoing investigations.
Adamczyk is being accused of falsifying overtime work, secretly recording the police chief during a heated argument while on a vacation cruise with the mother of Altaheri’s child, blackmailing the chief, and other allegations.
Adamczyk has denied all those accusations.
Garbarino said he authorized the investigation into the police chief based on a number of incidents about which he did not go into detail.
At times, Ghalib lashed out at Garbarino, accusing him of creating a “police mentality” in city hall, and causing him to feel unsafe.
“How do I know there are no recording devices or cameras in my office, in my car?” Ghalib said. “I have zero trust now.”
The suspension came as little surprise, as the city council and mayor had become increasingly critical of Garbarino and his handling of the investigation into the police chief.
Last Friday, the council held a special meeting to discuss the “volatility in city hall,” and it was believed the council was about for fire Garbarino.
But Ghalib said he stepped in and “advised” the council to not take that action.
As for the issue of the police chief, Garbarino said he has the authority, per the city charter, to suspend department heads without city council approval.
That is a position the city council and the mayor do not agree with him on.
In defense, Garbarino said suspending the police chief under these circumstances “is what any city manager would have done.”
Before Tuesday’s council meeting, Garbarino issued a statement outlining the potential legal blowback, including the violation of the Whistleblower Protection Act, the council and mayor face if he were suspended.
But Ghalib dismissed that threat, saying: “Why do you think your lawsuit is scary?”
The decision to suspend Garbarino came after an hour-and-a-half of public comment on the chief’s suspension, with most speakers — some of whom came from Dearborn – speaking in favor of the chief and urging the firing of Garbarino.
That was followed by an angry 45-minute back-and-forth between Mayor Ghalib and Garbarino – exploding what had already been a growing fracture in their relationship.
Garbarino, who is white, said that it comes down to the all-Muslim council rallying around the city’s first Muslim police chief, who also happens to be a Yemeni immigrant – just like the mayor and Councilmembers Khalil Refai and Mohammed Alsomiri.
Garbarino acknowledged the chief is a popular public figure in the community, saying that he’s “a Yemeni police chief who’s the first of his kind here …”
At which point Mayor Ghalib interrupted to say: “That has nothing to do with it.”
Garbarino continued: “It has absolutely everything to do with this.”
At one point, at the mayor’s urging, and with the advice of City Attorney Odey Meroueh, the council went into a short closed meeting to discuss what action they should take with Garbarino.
That meeting, however, has led to questions about whether they violated the state’s Open Meetings Act (OMA) to discuss disciplinary action against a city employee without the employee, in this case Garbarino, being included.
The OMA specifically says a closed meeting, in such cases, can only be held “if the named person requests a closed session.”
Garbarino was not included in that meeting.
After the closed meeting, the council unanimously voted to suspend Garbarino with pay, at which point he left the council chambers with police officers following him.
The city’s Finance Director, Syed Aamir Ahsan, was appointed acting city manager.
Mayor Ghalib, who is an appointee of President Trump and waiting to be confirmed by the U.S. Senate to be the next ambassador to Kuwait, justified Garbarino’s suspension saying:
“Having you in city hall will cause some interference into this investigation, and I don’t think it’s fair to have you here while the police chief is part of the investigation.”
Ghalib added that, if Garbarino is cleared, “we will welcome you (back) happily.”
In the past, such fractures between the city manager and city council and mayor have typically resulted in the city manager being fired.
Posted May 31, 2025