Fired, but Firing Back Over Dealings in Washington

But this is not a typical hard-luck story of setback amid a recession.

Since he was fired almost four years ago, Mr. Payne, 41, has been locked in a bitter dispute with the city’s chief financial officer, Natwar M. Gandhi, his former boss and one of the most powerful unelected officials in Washington. Mr. Payne asserted in a lawsuit filed in 2010 that he was fired for drawing attention to misconduct in city contracting; Mr. Gandhi has countered by calling him a disgruntled employee.

At least one federal criminal investigation has sprung directly from concerns that Mr. Payne says he raised when he was a contracting officer and included in a lawsuit over his dismissal. The Securities and Exchange Commission is investigating Mr. Gandhi’s office as well.

The legal feud has taken an unusually personal tone. In a second lawsuit, Mr. Payne accused Mr. Gandhi of defaming him in public statements and in private e-mail circulated to business leaders, preventing him from finding new work.

“The uncomfortable questions I’ve raised have made it difficult for district officials to continue those practices,” Mr. Payne said. “This feels like a measure of retribution.”

Mr. Payne was fired, he has said, for resisting efforts by city officials, including Mayor Vincent C. Gray and at least one City Council member, to scrap a $38 million lottery contract with the winning bidder. The fight has played out in the footlights of another scandal: an inquiry into Mr. Gray’s 2010 election, which has been tainted by revelations that a wealthy supporter bankrolled an off-the-books “shadow campaign.” In unrelated scandals, two City Council members resigned this year after one pleaded guilty to bank fraud and the other to theft.

Mr. Payne has been something of a voice in the wilderness as intrigue has swirled around the mayor and the Council. But his accusations about misconduct in the lottery contracting process have gained attention recently as new controversies have emerged over Mr. Gandhi’s stewardship of his office.

In October, his internal affairs chief, William J. DiVello, abruptly stepped down over what he said was pressure to shield internal audits from public view. The S.E.C. is investigating. Mr. Gandhi’s office denies that such a policy exists.

In early December, Mr. Gandhi faced blunt questions at a tense City Council committee hearing that touched on his dispute with Mr. Payne.

A former council member, William P. Lightfoot, called Mr. Payne’s account “a story about villains and a hero.”

“I think Mr. Payne spoke truth to power, and power decided they were going to crush him,” he said. “It’s just that simple.”

Council members who sought a public airing of the circumstances around Mr. Payne’s firing left disappointed. Mr. Gandhi sat silently as his lawyer told frustrated council members he could not discuss the case because of the litigation.

Jack Evans, a council member and chairman of the finance committee, said: “Someone is going to explain to this committee what happened. We can do it today, we can do it next week, we can do it next month, but at some point, someone is going to explain.”

A spokesman for Mr. Gandhi declined an interview request.

Mr. Gandhi is considered the guardian of Washington’s treasury, a position created during the city’s near-insolvency in the 1990s. But his credibility was damaged several years ago after Harriette M. Walters, a manager in the city tax office, pleaded guilty to stealing $48 million, raising questions about oversight in his office.

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Eagles’ Andy Reid Among Seven N.F.L. Coaches Fired

The conclusion of the regular season always signals the start of a whirlwind of firings and job searches involving coaches and top executives, while only 12 teams prepare for the playoffs. This year, though, brought sweeping, swift change even to some of the most stable and patient — maybe too patient — teams in the N.F.L. Seven coaches and five general managers were fired before lunchtime in a day unequaled for its turmoil in recent memory.

The Philadelphia Eagles ended Andy Reid’s 14-year tenure, drawing the curtain on a tear-stained season that began with the death of Reid’s son during training camp and continued with a week-by-week watch of how the team’s won-lost ledger matched up with the owner Jeffrey Lurie’s preseason edict that Reid had to do better than 8-8 to keep his job. Philadelphia ended up 4-12. In Chicago, Lovie Smith was fired after nine seasons despite finishing 10-6.

In San Diego, Norv Turner, his dismissal expected almost from the day he got the job six years ago, was finally fired, along with General Manager A. J. Smith, who had held his post for almost 10 years. The same fate befell Coach Ken Whisenhunt in Arizona, who was fired after six seasons. Reid, Lovie Smith and Whisenhunt had taken their teams to the Super Bowl in the past; Turner led the Chargers to the A.F.C. Championship game.

All, though, had lost of late. And the reason for their ousters was summed up neatly by the league’s newest owner, Jimmy Haslam of the Cleveland Browns, who fired his coach, Pat Shurmur, and general manager, Tom Heckert.

“It might be a little unfair of me to put that pressure on that new head coach already, but the way the N.F.L. operates, there is relative parity,” Haslam said. “And you can turn things around quickly.”

Three teams that combined won only 10 games last year qualified for the playoffs this season: the Indianapolis Colts, the Washington Redskins and the Minnesota Vikings. Every owner wants that result. And they want it now.

Among others who were fired: Chan Gailey, after three seasons in Buffalo, and Romeo Crennel, after just one full season in Kansas City, which won two games and has the first pick in the spring draft. Scott Pioli, the Chiefs’ general manager, retained his job for now, the owner Clark Hunt said. But other general managers were not so lucky. Those fired, in addition to Smith and Heckert: Mike Tannenbaum of the Jets, Gene Smith of the Jacksonville Jaguars and Rod Graves of the Cardinals. The Carolina Panthers fired Marty Hurney during the season and have yet to replace him.

The speed with which so many top people were sent packing was breathtaking, but not surprising. Owners want to grab top candidates, like Chip Kelly of the University of Oregon, before anyone else, and give their new coaches time to assemble staffs of top assistants. The Browns, for instance, said they would hire a coach first and then a player personnel executive. That is an unorthodox arrangement but a signal that they are very likely pursuing a candidate others will want and that he will be invested with plenty of power on personnel.

The most hotly pursued candidates can afford to be choosy. The current openings all have some drawbacks and advantages, but the most careful coaches are likely to look at one important factor: which teams have good quarterback situations, an especially important consideration in a year without a strong quarterback class in free agency or the draft. Of the teams that fired coaches or general managers on Monday, only two, the Bears and the Chargers, have quarterbacks who are considered championship-caliber.

Whisenhunt might embody the problem more than most. When he had Kurt Warner, the Cardinals went to the Super Bowl. But after Warner retired, Whisenhunt and Graves were unable to identify and develop the next great Arizona quarterback — they used four starters this season — and they paid for that failure with their jobs.

This may not be the most active market ever for coaches though. There were 10 new coaches going into the 2009 season and several of the coaches fired Monday — especially Reid, who went to the N.F.C. Championship game five times with the Eagles and has indicated that he wants to coach again immediately — are expected to find new jobs quickly.

But once the coaches are in place, time quickly becomes their enemy. With Reid’s firing, the longest-tenured head coach in the N.F.L. is Bill Belichick, whom New England hired in 2000. His job security is rare, though. It has taken perhaps the best quarterback in history, five Super Bowl appearances and three championships to earn it.

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