Suspended Hamtramck City Manager Max Garbarino and police officer David Adamczyk filed a lawsuit Monday against city officials, alleging widespread corruption, election fraud and retaliation for exposing misconduct.
“This has been a long time coming. I think recent events have forced some of these issues to a head,” said Civil Rights Attorney Jon Marko. “This is politics at its worst. This is allegations of corruption at its worst.”
The 72-page lawsuit names Mayor Amer Ghalib, Police Chief Jamiel Altaheri, and six city council members as defendants, claiming violations of whistleblower protection laws and civil rights statutes.
“It reads out of a season of The Sopranos,” Marko said.
Among the most serious allegations, the lawsuit claims Police Chief Altaheri participated in a scheme to secure a presidential pardon for a wealthy New York associate facing financial crime charges. According to court documents, the plan involved a proposed payment of $1-5 million to former President Donald Trump through an intermediary.
The lawsuit alleges Altaheri stood to receive a percentage of the payment for facilitating the arrangement through a local businessman with claimed connections to Trump.
“I witnessed him attempt to arrange a multi-million-dollar pardon deal through Trump associates, high domestic violence incidents and forge and deliver IDs for an associate and stashing a stolen vehicle,” Adamczyk said.
The legal battle also touches on investigations into alleged election fraud in Hamtramck. City Clerk Rana Faraj reported irregularities with absentee ballots in late 2023, including identical handwriting on ballot envelopes and suspicious bulk deposits.
After months of investigation involving state authorities, Garbarino and Faraj sent formal letters to Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel in March 2025, expressing frustration over the lack of action despite “clear evidence of suspicious activities.”
Investigations also revealed that two council members allegedly lived outside city limits. Garbarino said that when he presented these findings, the council voted to allegedly disregard the evidence.
The lawsuit also claims council members pressured Garbarino to fire city employees based on discriminatory grounds, including demands to remove the city assessor for displaying a Pride flag and the human resources director because there were allegedly “too many Black people” working for the city.
After Adamczyk reported allegations to state police and the FBI, Garbarino placed both Adamczyk and Chief Altaheri on administrative leave. The council subsequently suspended Garbarino in what the lawsuit characterizes as unlawful retaliation.
“The city has endured misconduct for far too long. These guys have been fixing the elections here for over a decade, and we have been begging for help,” Garbarino said.
The lawsuit alleges violations of:
- Michigan’s Whistleblower Protection Act
- First Amendment retaliation
- Elliott-Larsen Civil Rights Act
- Open Meetings Act
- Breach of contract
The plaintiffs seek reinstatement and damages for lost wages, emotional distress and damage to their reputations.
