City councillor denies wrongdoing after former engineer's allegations in $1.5-million lawsuit

A member of council is responding to a $1.5-million lawsuit filed by a former engineer against the City of Windsor.

Chris Nepszy, who was suddenly terminated after a two-year stint as Windsor's city engineer in Nov. 2023, is suing the City of Windsor for wrongful termination.

Nepszy is alleging the city fostered a "culture of corruption" and coerced him into misusing public funds, among a litany of another allegations.

One of those allegations accuses two city councillors, in particular, of requesting Nepszy's department to waive parking tickets for their personal connections: Ward 7's Angelo Marignani and Ward 1 councillor Fred Francis.

While Marignani refused comment on this story "as this matter is in front of the courts," Francis refuted the allegation against him.

The statement of claim filed by Nepszy, through his lawyer Howard Levitt, outlines specific instances of alleged incidents of "impropriety" by the city.

These include being coerced by administration to "ensure that the Mayor remained happy, cover up costs for the Legacy Beacon streetcar project, show favoritism towards certain council members and delay publishing administrative reports for Dilkens' political advantage.

Nepszy also alleges his department received requests by Marignani and Francis to waive parking violations for themselves, their friends and family members.

"I don't know where this is coming from. But when someone says you did something wrong, you have to come out strongly and prove, unfortunately, that you didn't because not everyone's going to give you the benefit of the doubt," said Francis.

Francis showed a stack of emails to CTV News, which he said showed all of the correspondence in his current email inbox related to parking enforcement.

All of them, he added, show Francis' correspondence to the city's parking department is limited to concerns from residents — not for himself, friends or family.

"I actually called the person all councillors go to on parking enforcement and I said, 'Listen. Be honest with me. In the 10 years I've been here, in all the emails I've sent you about parking infractions ... have I ever done anything for myself, a family or a friend? The reply I got back from them was never."

Francis said he welcomes the day when Nepszy's allegations are presented before the courts.

"If it goes to court, great. I have my evidence. I have my proof. I'm able to defend myself. I take this very seriously because all you have is your name and all you have is your reputation," said Francis.

"And, and you always have to clear that up. And it's unfortunate that you have to do that. But I feel very strongly that I do. And like I said, I'll only speak for myself, and I'll let others speak for themselves."

Speaking with AM 800 News, Windsor Mayor Drew Dilkens said he strongly denied all of the Nepszy's allegations against the city.

"There is no corruption at city hall. None of that exists. These are all spurious allegations designed to try and embarrass," said Dilkens.

"I'm not embarrassed. I'm not embarrassed about anything that I've done at city hall."

Speaking with CTV News on Monday, Nepszy's lawyer Howard Levitt said his client has been unable to find a comparable job following his sudden termination five months ago.

"He served Windsor with integrity and to the best of his ability ... and one day, he was terminated," said Levitt.

Nepszy, who was brought in as Windsor's city engineer in Sept. 2021 before he was fired in Nov. 2023, is seeking $1,549,800, in damages for wrongful termination.

This amount includes punitive damages, salary loss, vacation and benefits pay and moral/bad faith damages.

In a statement, Marignani said he is willing to comment on this case "after it works itself through the [legal] system."

The suit also alleges Nepszy was coerced into approving unscheduled road improvements in Ward 5 where Ed Sleiman serves as councillor.

Sleiman, who the lawsuit refers to as a "long-time supporter of the mayor," did not respond to a request for comment.

None of the allegations have been tested in court.