I-Team: Records Show Caballero’s Claim Of McNabb’s Resignation Inaccurate

Records obtained by the ABC-7 I-team unveiled that attorney Theresa Caballero’s claim that former City Attorney Charlie McNabb’s resignation coincided with a complaint she filed against him is inaccurate.

“It’s on pretty good authority that Charlie McNabb resigned from the position of the attorney from the city a few days after we filed our complaints against him,” she told ABC-7 on Monday.

Caballero is accusing McNabb of failing to notify defendants when police officers resigned in the midst of an overtime investigation. The complaint, addressed to the State Bar of Texas, is posted on her blog. It’s dated Nov. 18, 2011. The Bar did not confirm to ABC-7 if it had received the complaint, citing privacy laws.

Emails obtained by the I-Team showed McNabb wrote to the mayor Oct. 25, a month before Caballero’s alleged complaint, letting Cook know of his last day on the job. The email indicated the mayor and McNabb had already discussed the pending retirement.

“Please consider this email my notice of resignation,” McNabb wrote Cook. In the e-mail, McNabb told Cook his last day would be Dec. 3.

The mayor dismissed Caballero’s claim.

“She flatters herself to think she had anything to do with Charlie leaving. The reality is that Charlie has been talking about leaving for over a year now,” he said Monday.

ABC-7 tried to get a hold of Caballero to get her take on the timeline and left her messages, but she did not return the calls by deadline.

ABC-7 also checked on McNabb’s pension. He had retired from the city before and came back at the request of Cook six years ago. A spokeswoman for the city said McNabb will only receive one pension for his initial retirement because he did not pay into the pension fund the second time he worked for the city.

The mayor has selected McNabb’s replacement — El Pasoan Sylvia Borunda Firth. She’s been a private attorney, an assistant city attorney and more recently, the mayor’s chief of staff. City representatives will have to ratify the mayor’s pick during Tuesday’s city council meeting.

As of August, McNabb’s annual salary was listed as $213,298. The city has not announced how much the new city attorney will be paid.