Commissioner, cop fired for blowing whistle on East St. Louis Housing Board, lawsuit says

A former East St. Louis police officer and his wife, a member of the housing board, filed a civil rights and defamation lawsuit in the U.S. Court for the Southern District of Illinois claiming they were wrongfully terminated by City Manager Robert Betts.

In the four-count lawsuit, Shonte and Nicholas Mueller say they were fired in retaliation for reporting problems with the East St. Louis Housing Authority and its interim executive director.

According to court records and previous reporting by the Belleville News-Democrat, the issues originated in 2023 when Shonte Mueller was appointed as a commissioner on the housing authority board. In October of that year, she reported to city officials that the interim director was not following federal regulations and procedures, which she felt would jeopardize its certification through the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

When Mueller took her concerns to members of the “upper level East St. Louis City government,” she was told to “leave it alone,” the lawsuit states.

She also reported the issues to HUD Director William Dawson and the East St. Louis housing authority attorney, who recommended the interim director be suspended while an investigation was conducted.

“During the investigation, and as a result of Shonte’s reports, a representative of Defendant (Betts) told Shonte that if she did not resign, she and her husband would suffer consequences,” the lawsuit says.

Michael Collins, identified in the suit as Betts’ “agent,” called Mueller to confirm that she had contacted the HUD director about the issues.

“When Shonte replied ‘yes,’ Collins asked if Shonte would be resigning as a result,” the lawsuit states. “When Shonte replied ‘no,’ Collins became irate and yelled ‘you want to go to war? I’ll tell the Mayor Nick’s ready to go.”

On Oct. 24, the lawsuit says, Nicholas Mueller, a 31-year veteran and assistant chief of the East St. Louis Police Department, and another officer attended a meeting of the housing authority “to ensure safety and that there was no breach of the peace.”

The board acted on its attorney’s advice and suspended the interim director and authorized an investigation into Shonte Mueller’s concerns.

“On October 26, 2023, around 10 p.m., in blatant retaliation for reporting unlawful activity and misconduct, the Mayor of East St. Louis (Charles Powell III) held a meeting and terminated Shonte from her Board position,” the complaint says.

The lawsuit says that on the same day, Betts told Nicholas Mueller that he would be fired on the spot unless he retired.

“This is tantamount to termination,” the lawsuit argues.

Shonte Mueller was reinstated to her position on the housing board because it recognized “the unlawfulness of the Mayor’s actions. But on Oct. 31, the lawsuit claims, Betts posted a “Notice of Charges,” accusing Mueller of incompetence “and insinuating that she engaged in criminal activity.”

On Nov. 16, following a hearing, Mueller was again removed from the board.

The first and fourth counts of the Muellers’ lawsuit alleges a breach of their First Amendment rights. The city violated Nicholas Mueller’s right to free speech by firing him for supporting his wife, the lawsuit states.

“Plaintiff Nicholas Mueller’s termination was motivated by his marriage and was in retaliation for Shonte Mueller continue (sic) to escalate the report of this conduct to various levels of government despite being told by Defendant to leave it alone,” the lawsuit alleges.

The suit also alleges that the city withheld Nichlas Mueller’s wages “for an extended period of time” following his termination from the police department.

The lawsuit’s second count alleges that both lost their positions with the city in retaliation for Shonte Mueller’s effort to bring her concerns about the housing authority to light, which would be in violation of the Illinois Whistleblowers Act.

The third count alleges that Shonte Mueller was defamed by the distribution of the “Notice of Charges” portraying her as being incompetent and implying she has criminal history.

In addition to punitive damages, lost wages and other fees, the Muellers’ lawsuit is asking that the city institute policies and trainings for managers to deter workplace retaliation.

The lawsuit comes on the heels of previous BND reporting on the housing authority, which showed repeated turnover of the director’s position among other troubles.

East St. Louis could face a federal takeover of the appointed body, funding cuts or other penalties, if city officials don’t adopt proper policies and procedures for appointing authority board members, according to a top U.S. housing official.

The warning was part of an April 29 letter from Dawson, director of HUD’s regional office in Chicago, to Powell and the East St. Louis City Council.

According to the letter, HUD officials discovered in a review of the local housing authority that two of its board members did not live in the city, a violation of state law and HUD rules. One of the members has since resigned, and the city council has replaced her. The status of the other is not clear.

This story was originally published November 12, 2024 at 5:00 AM.