CUDAHY (KTLA) -- The city of Cudahy is cleaning house, but nobody will say why.
On Monday night, the city council voted in a closed session to fire longtime City Manager George Perez and City Attorney David Olivas.
The council also placed City Clerk Larry Galvan and Human Resources Director Crystal Hernandez on administrative leave. Galvan promptly filed retirement papers.
After announcing the changes, Cudahy Mayor Jose Barrios said only that Perez was fired "for cause," but he declined to elaborate.
City Councilman Frank Gurule told KTLA only that he had "no comment."
Olivas said he knew he was going to be fired, but he says he was surprised about how it all played out.
"I didn't expect that to happen," he told KTLA shortly after the vote.
The council voted to replace Olivas with Arturo Fierro, a partner in a firm that also represents Chino and Rialto.
Both Olivas and Perez began their run in Cudahy 11 years ago, when the city council passed an ordinance allowing Perez, a fellow councilmember, to be appointed city manager. That decision sparked a grand jury investigation, but no one would say on Monday whether concerns about the investigation prompted the firings.
Perez did not attend Monday night's meeting.
Perez’s contract with the city stipulates that he receive 18 month's salary if he's terminated for any reason other than the commission of a felony for personal gain.
He had been receiving $217,000 a year, plus perks, so he would be entitled to roughly $325,500.
Cudahy is a small city in southeast Los Angeles, not far from the city of Bell, where eight former city officials have been accused of public corruption and misusing city funds.
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