Gov. Robert Bentley is being sued by the former employee who is accusing him of having an affair.
Spencer Collier, the former secretary of law enforcement, is suing the governor, his former top aide Rebekah Mason and ALEA Secretary Stan Stabler, according to court documents filed today in the Circuit Court of Montgomery County.
Collier accused Bentley of having an affair with Mason after being fired in February for allegedly misusing state funds.
Collier said he was fired as ALEA chief for signing an affidavit that stated there was no misconduct by the attorney general's office in Alabama speaker Mike Hubbard's ethics case, according to the filing. Hubbard's trial is scheduled to begin in May.
Collier is suing for a variety of civil charges, including wrongful termination, invasion of privacy, defamation and intentional interference with a business relation.
In counts two and three of the document, Collier states Bentley, Mason and Stabler invaded his privacy by putting him in a false light. Count two references Collier ignoring Bentley's order not to submit an affidavit to the attorney general regarding the Hubbard case, while count three states Collier was put in a false light when Bentley and Stabler said he misused state funds. Collier argued that Stabler was motivated to see Collier fired so he could take the job as ALEA secretary.
"The statements implied to the public that Collier was insubordinate and had done something wrong when in fact he was lawfully required to cooperate with and tell the truth to the Attorney General in all ongoing criminal cases," count two of the document reads.
Collier is also suing for defamation, stating Mason, Bentley and Stabler knowingly damaged his reputation.
Collier is suing Bentley and Mason for wrongful termination, alleging he did not misuse funds as much as Bentley or Mason.
"The termination of Collier on the grounds of 'possible misuse of state dollars' was just a pretext to cover-up for Bentley’s and Mason’s anger for Collier cooperating with the Attorney General’s Office," the document reads.
Bentley's office issued a statement on the lawsuit Tuesday afternoon.
“Mr. Collier was terminated of his duties at ALEA for cause," Bentley said in the statement. "Once the facts and circumstances become public, I am confident that the justification for terminating him will be shown. We will aggressively defend this lawsuit.”
Do you like this story? The Plainsman doesn't accept money from tuition or student fees, and we don't charge a subscription fee. But you can donate to support The Plainsman.
