Jury awards ex-Ada County official $1.7 million in whistleblower lawsuit

Four years after filing a whistleblower lawsuit, a former Ada County department head got to see his case go before a jury.

After a one-week trial and two hours of deliberation, that jury on Tuesday awarded Rich Wright $1.74 million, according to his attorney, Eric Rossman.

Wright, a former TV journalist and Boise police spokesman, was Ada County’s spokesman from 2006 to 2008, when he was promoted to lead the Department of Administration. He was fired Jan. 15, 2013, the day after newly elected commissioners Dave Case and Jim Tibbs were sworn into office.

The next month, Wright filed a $1.5 million lawsuit, claiming he was fired, in part, for ordering an investigation into allegations that a manager with the commissioners’ office was harassing employees. He said commissioners retaliated because the employee, who ultimately resigned, was a friend of former Ada County Commissioner Vern Bisterfeldt and took part in Case’s and Tibbs’ 2012 election campaigns.

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