JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – JEA might owe ex-CEO Aaron Zahn damages and attorneys fees for what an arbitrator deemed a breach of his original employment agreement when the board of directors fired him nearly seven years ago amid public controversy, according to a report from our news partner the Florida Trib.
The arbitrator’s decision, issued Wednesday and which largely sided with Zahn, represents an extraordinary godsend for a former utility executive who was recently released from prison following convictions of wire fraud and conspiracy – all tied to his highly controversial and unsuccessful effort as JEA’s leader to privatize the agency.
The arbitrator, Leslie W. Langbein of Miami Lakes, issued a 36-page decision that does not once mention Zahn’s convictions, which followed a years-long federal grand jury investigation…