A former worker in the St. Louis sheriff’s office is suing Sheriff Alfred Montgomery, alleging she was slandered and fired for testifying in the Missouri attorney general’s lawsuit against him.
Tashana Syas was the department’s director of personnel and fiscal operations. She’s calling for more than $25,000 plus back pay, front pay, punitive damages, reinstatement, back contributions to retirement funds, emotional distress and assurances against future retaliation from the city and sheriff.
Her suit claims she was terminated after she was deposed on Aug. 26 in the state’s investigation of the sheriff. The attorney general’s office filed a quo warranto seeking to remove the sheriff earlier this year that includes allegations of kidnapping, unlawful detainment of a former sheriff's deputy and financial mismanagement.
Syas said she was told by a sheriff’s lieutenant on Sept. 5 that Montgomery had advised security that she and two other workers would be terminated and were no longer allowed to enter city courthouses. Syas also said she was given an anonymous recording of Montgomery saying he would fire her and the other workers. She said she testified in front of Montgomery and other sheriff’s department leaders in an interrogation the next week where Syas was accused of things she claims she didn’t do.
Syas said she was not allowed to present any counter evidence. Later that day, the sheriff’s department lawyer, David C. Mason, sent Syas an email claiming that after hearing from unnamed witnesses, hearing a report from the sheriff and hearing her out, Mason and others gave Montgomery their recommendation, leading to her termination on Sept. 11.
The suit is the latest dispute surrounding the sheriff’s office and follows recent federal felony charges against Montgomery that allege he retaliated against three people, including one under the alias of T.S.1 who appears to be Syas. The sheriff’s department claims the office established a committee to handle employment issues.
A transcribed recording in the federal indictment includes a conversation with Montgomery saying “I’m sick of this sh-- and I'm sick of these snake motherf------ ... [T.S.1, L.S., and T.S.2] gotta go.”
The sheriff’s department has maintained she was fired for illegally shredding documents, an allegation Syas denies. She claims she was given unknown shredded materials that were allegedly removed from her trash can and was told that was the reason for her firing. Syas said that the sheriff’s department gave her a shredder and that she used it regularly to prevent fraud and waste and to get rid of confidential materials while following relevant laws. She said the sheriff’s department had yet to tell her what was in the shredded documents.
An audit released this week by the comptroller's office cited the sheriff’s department for its financial woes. The audit recommends that the fiscal operations manager and personnel director be split into two separate positions to improve financial operations. It also criticized the department for using an Excel sheet to record finances instead of financial management software.
Syas claims that she hasn’t been fully paid and that her last paycheck was several hundred dollars short. She also maintains she was fired despite not having a history of disciplinary action. Her suit claims she was fired without a hearing and without due process.
