The former Kissimmee city attorney fired in February by the city commission has now sued, alleging she was terminated in retaliation for warning that Mayor Jackie Espinosa’s acceptance of city grant money violated Florida ethics law, according to Osceola County court documents.
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Olga Sanchez de Fuentes filed the lawsuit last week, accusing Kissimmee of violating Florida’s Public Sector Whistleblower’s Act and breaching her employment contract. She is seeking damages in excess of $50,000.
The suit names the city, not Espinosa personally, as the defendant and adds to the ethics fight that has already embroiled city hall.
Last week, a special prosecutor found probable cause to pursue articles of impeachment against Espinosa for the same ethics concerns Sanchez de Fuentes had raised.
The mayor has denied wrongdoing. It is up to the city’s remaining commissioners to decide whether to proceed on impeachment. They have not yet said when the Kissimmee City Commission will take up the special prosecutor’s recommendations, which also include referring the matter to law enforcement.
The ethics issue stemmed from Business Boost 2.0, a city program funded by federal pandemic relief money. Espinosa led the effort to create and expand it during her first year in office, and three businesses tied to her family later received around $50,000.
That prompted an ethics complaint from a resident in March and then the special prosecutor’s investigation. The prosecutor, Mayanne Downs, found probable cause that Espinosa had violated city codes by engaging in official actions that were a prohibited conflict of interest, failing to disclose her personal interest in the official actions, and failing to follow the ethical guidance of the city attorney.
A city spokesperson declined to comment on the lawsuit, and the city has not yet filed a response to the lawsuit in court.
Christopher Pace, the Winter Park attorney representing Sanchez de Fuentes, did not respond to a request for comment by phone or email Monday. Sanchez de Fuentes could not be reached for comment Monday.
The complaint alleges Espinosa moved to fire Sanchez de Fuentes, who was earning more than $177,000, within weeks of the attorney warning that the mayor’s receipt of grant money was problematic.
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Sanchez de Fuentes said when she learned about Espinosa’s family receiving the grant money, she contacted the state Commission on Ethics’ on-call counsel, who confirmed the grants would violate a statute barring public officials from doing business with their own agency, according to the lawsuit.
That day, the suit says, she emailed Espinosa and City Manager Mike Steigerwald a written warning titled “CEO grant is a prohibited contractual relationship.” One week later, Espinosa was actively looking to replace Sanchez de Fuentes, soliciting a letter of interest from another attorney interested in the job, it says.
The commission voted 3-1 to fire Sanchez de Fuentes on Feb. 3. Commissioner Angela Eady cast the lone no vote and Commissioner Janette Martinez was absent.
At that meeting, Espinosa presented a 24-page document she characterized as a review of the city attorney’s office budget, asserting the office had “overstated or overcharged” taxpayers $6.2 million over a decade.
The lawsuit says the document was “materially inaccurate,” was not prepared by the city’s finance department or auditors, and covered years before Sanchez de Fuentes became city attorney.
Sanchez de Fuentes defended herself at the meeting and signaled she might sue under the whistleblower retaliation law.
“If you want to sue the city and cost the taxpayer more money, that’s okay, that’s your prerogative,” Espinosa said during the February meeting.
Sanchez de Fuentes had worked for the city for about a dozen years, first as a deputy city attorney and then, since 2019, as the city attorney.
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