ALLENTOWN, Pa. — A lawsuit against the city could force officials to hand over the results of a long-running investigation into claims of racism and discrimination.
Officials have refused to share the documents after spending more than half a million dollars on the probe.
Tawanna Whitehead, who works closely with council in her role as deputy clerk, alleges city officials looked the other way and “did shamefully little” to intervene as one member created a “racially hostile” work environment.
Whitehead sued Allentown in Lehigh County court a year ago, amid an investigation into race-based claims at City Hall.
“Local legislators are absolutely immune from liability for their legislative actions."Allentown attorneys
Council hired former FBI agent Scott Curtis' company, FLEO Investigations, in June 2024 to lead a probe after authorizing it in October 2023.
But members put the kibosh on Curtis’ work in January when they terminated his contract and hired Duane Morris LLC to take over.
More than eight months later, leaders of the Philadelphia-based law firm released a set of recommendations based on their modified analysis of city policies rather than specific complaints or allegations of racism and discrimination.
Officials shared no findings at a Sept. 4 news conference, but in an emailed statement to reporters later that day, they said Duane Morris found "isolated discriminatory conduct by individual city employees."
Maria Montero, city council’s solicitor, told reporters that residents should not expect to see a published report of findings from either set of investigators.
And the city denied LehighValleyNews.com’s Right-to-Know request for records produced during the probe, beyond again sharing the aforementioned press release.
City fights subpoenas
Marc Weinstein, Whitehead’s attorney, now is asking a judge to compel officials to share those records as part of the discovery process for their case.
He subpoenaed the city twice in October, seeking “any and all documents” related to the investigations conducted by Curtis’ FLEO Investigations and Duane Morris LLC.
Weinstein argues in legal filings that those requested documents — which include emails, notes, recordings, invoices and reports — would show whether Whitehead worked in a racially hostile environment.
“These materials are no more confidential than if the city had hired Duane Morris to investigate what brand of asphalt … lasted the longest."Marc Weinstein, attorney for Tawanna Whitehead
City lawyers are looking to block the release of those documents, arguing they are protected by attorney-client privilege and would not “prove whether or not Ms. Whitehead was subjected to a racially based hostile work environment.”
They also claim materials are protected from release because they are “procedurally legislative.”
“Local legislators are absolutely immune from liability for their legislative actions,” Allentown attorneys argue in a Nov. 14 motion to quash Weinstein’s subpoenas.
But Whitehead’s attorney argues the requested documents “are all fair game” because investigators were not providing legal advice nor helping council members draft legislation.
“These materials are no more confidential than if the city had hired Duane Morris to investigate what brand of asphalt … lasted the longest,” Weinstein wrote.
“It’s one thing to hire a law firm, but assuredly another to hire a law firm for the purpose of securing legal advice.”
Costly probe
Whitehead’s lawsuit, filed in November 2024, links her allegations to the city council-approved investigation in its first sentence.
“City Council has authorized and retained an outside investigator to get to the bottom of [allegations] and is willing to spend up to $300,000 to do it,” the lawsuit opens.
Council earmarked that much in October 2023 when it authorized the investigation.
But a year on from Whitehead filing her lawsuit, the total cost of the dual investigations — and a related lawsuit between council and the mayor — looks set to settle closer to double the initial funding set aside.
Allentown owed Curtis about $68,000 for his work during the second half of 2024 as he conducted dozens of interviews before council hired Duane Morris LLC to step in.
The law firm agreed to try to limit its billable costs to $450,000 after quoting a price of up to $1 million for the probe.
Council members this fall approved spending more than $375,000 to cover five months of work by Duane Morris LLC, with an expectation that more bills would be submitted.
And city officials spent more than $110,000 on a legal fight over Curtis hiring.
Mayor Matt Tuerk refused to pay Curtis after council sidestepped the city’s normal contracting process to hire the former FBI agent.
The body hired lawyers to pursue litigation to force Tuerk to honor their contract, but members voted to drop the effort on the eve of the case’s first court date.
It's unclear whether Curtis has yet been paid by the city.
