Nearly three months after Catholic Charities Fort Worth and its former president and CEO Michael Iglio parted ways, the former nonprofit leader wants a Tarrant County court to help him get answers to why he was fired.
Iglio filed the petition on Nov. 12 asking Tarrant County’s 352nd District Court for permission to take testimony of several leaders at the charity to investigate the “mysterious nature of the termination.”
The purpose of the depositions is to assess whether Iglio was defamed by any staff or defamed or defrauded by the nonprofit’s board. Iglio alleges he was “treated differently than other past CEOs of Catholic Charities” and needs to determine whether he was discriminated against, according to the court filing.
Iglio did not respond to the Fort Worth Report’s call and text requesting comment.
The depositions are a way to “find out the truth about what happened,” said David Fielding, an attorney representing Iglio.
“We’re saying we need more information. Here, it looks like he might have been defamed. It looks like he might have been discriminated against for an unlawful reason, but we want to gather the information first before we make any allegations like that,” Fielding told the Report.
“Catholic Charities Fort Worth is confident in our decision regarding the future of this agency and all who are served by it,” a spokesperson said to the Report in a statement.
“These claims have no merit, and we welcome the opportunity to address any allegations through the appropriate channels of the judicial system,” the statement said.
Catholic Charities Fort Worth officials announced that Iglio was no longer with the nonprofit in mid-August. They named the nonprofit’s board chair Beth Kwasny as the interim leader.
Catholic Charities officials did not respond to the Fort Worth Report’s questions at the time about why Iglio was no longer with the nonprofit, whether he resigned or was let go, and other queries related to the leadership change. In October the charity named Heather Reynolds as its next president and CEO. She is expected to formally step into the role in February.
Iglio wants depositions of several board members including Allison Rix, Butch Bercher, Austin Barr, Sunnie Austin and Kwasny. He also wants testimony from other employees; Reynolds, a professional coach hired by the board to work with Iglio during his performance improvement plan; and a previous interim CEO, according to court records.
Iglio alleges he was “fired by Catholic Charities for no good reason” and that he was accused of “losing his team,” according to court documents.
“This reason is a pretext. The actual reason for Petitioner’s termination was to eliminate him from the organization so the Executive Committee could hire,” the Nov. 12 filing said.
Iglio had overseen Catholic Charities Fort Worth since June 2023. Before that, he was the organization’s chief operating officer beginning in April 2020.
The filing notes a complaint led to Iglio being subjected to a performance improvement plan on May 19.
Iglio and his attorney allege the agency’s grievance policy was ignored, that he was treated “differently than others” and that the complaint against him “was never disclosed in full” and that “he was denied a meaningful opportunity to respond.”
Susan Shapiro, the professional coach hired to help Iglio, was allegedly disregarded, according to court records. Iglio alleges Kwasny declined to work with him or the coach, “making it clear that the process was not about resolution but about removal,” according to the filing.
Iglio alleges the board did not follow the organization’s bylaws in adding another board member “following a secret meeting” with Catholic Bishop Michael F. Olson “without board approval”; “consistently meddled” in operational decisions; and “working around the CEO.”
The filing also alleges Iglio was pressured to award “unprecedented” $25,000 bonuses to two employees and coerced him to keep the original complaint and PIP “secret from the full board.”
The Report did not hear back from Olson regarding a request for comment. A spokesperson for the Catholic Diocese of Fort Worth said Olson is attending the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops meeting in Baltimore.
Iglio is seeking the information under a specific Texas Rule of Civil Procedure that allows a person to ask a court to take deposition, or sworn testimony, before a lawsuit is formally filed. Iglio noted in the filings that he intends for the testimony to be recorded on video as well as have a written record of the deposition.
Marissa Greene is a Report for America corps member, covering faith for the Fort Worth Report. You can contact her at marissa.greene@fortworthreport.org.
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