Vallejo Prepares to Approve Corrupted Mare Island Land Deal Despite Whistleblowers' Warnings

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The Law Firm of Gwilliam Ivary Chiosso Cavalli & Brewer

Mar 14, 2022, 06:00 ET

OAKLAND, Calif., March 14, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- An unscrupulous public land deal set to turn over 157 acres of city-owned land on Vallejo's Mare Island to private developers is scheduled to be finalized at a Vallejo City Council meeting later this month, according to The Law Firm of Gwilliam Ivary Chiosso Cavalli & Brewer. Warnings shedding light on the nefarious land deal came from three whistleblowers who were wrongfully terminated in retaliation after exposing City officials who had worked to sabotage a negotiated deal in favor of private developers.

"Vallejo is proposing to sell 157 acres of publicly-owned land in a contract that is at odds with conventional public land deals," said J. Gary Gwilliam, Esq., with Gwilliam Ivary Chiosso Cavalli & Brewer, who represents Plaintiffs Slater Matzke, Joanna Altman, and Will Morat in their wrongful termination and whistleblower claims against the City of Vallejo. "The land deal has no performance guarantees, no public benefits – there isn't even a sales price that provides net revenue to the City when turning over this valuable land. This land deal goes against the best interests of Vallejo residents."

In early October 2019, Nyhoff directly asked Morat to insert ambiguous language to water down the private developer's obligations. "When I told him 'I can't do that,' Nyhoff retorted: 'Then I'll find someone who will' and it is apparent Nyhoff found the cronies to push forward his unscrupulous land deal to the detriment to the citizens of Vallejo", commented Morat.

In late 2019, all three plaintiffs – Morat, Altman, and Matzke - began to openly question then-City Manager Nyhoff's motives after Nyhoff repeatedly attempted to surrender the City's negotiating position for a Mare Island land transaction which had already been approved by the Vallejo City Council.

In March 2020, the Vallejo City Council ordered an independent and confidential investigation into then-City Manager Greg Nyhoff. All three plaintiffs were compelled to participate under assurances from the Acting City Attorney that their interviews would be confidential, despite all three expressing fears that Nyhoff would retaliate. Less than 24 hours after the investigation was finalized, all three plaintiffs, who collectively had served the City of Vallejo for more than 17 years, were wrongfully terminated.

During the March 2020 investigation into Nyhoff, the plaintiffs reported that Nyhoff held secret meetings with the Nimitz Group and Southern Land Company, Nimitz's previously undisclosed partner, including a meeting at Southern Land Company's headquarters in Tennessee in September 2019. Nyhoff admitted to these secret meetings at a public City Council meeting in late 2020.

In June 2021, Nyhoff mysteriously disappeared from City Hall citing a medical issue, but never returned. City Council accepted Nyhoff's resignation and paid him a severance of $577,000, despite a tenure marked by controversy and corruption, including several lawsuits that specifically name Nyhoff as a defendant.

"Our clients hope that the City Council heeds their warnings before considering approval of the Mare Island agreement," said Randall Strauss, Esq., with Gwilliam Ivary Chiosso Cavalli & Brewer, co-counsel for the plaintiffs. "If this proposed deal for 157 acres of public property is finalized later this month without sufficient safeguards, guarantees, and provisions to protect the public interest, Vallejoans will suffer the economic consequences of City Hall's culture of corruption and malfeasance for decades."

Contact Gary Gwilliam or Randall Strauss at 510-832-5411 www.giccb.com

SOURCE The Law Firm of Gwilliam Ivary Chiosso Cavalli & Brewer