A former security liaison and club manager at Kansas Citys downtown entertainment district has filed a lawsuit alleging that Cordish Companies and others deliberately created disturbances to eject black patrons from the district.
Cordish, the Baltimore-based developer of the district, vigorously denies the allegations.
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Cusimano alleges he saw numerous instances of racially discriminatory practices in which African Americans were turned away from clubs more frequently or forced to wait longer in lines. He alleges that in the summer of 2012 he was ordered to employ a rabbit, a Caucasian male to start arguments with African Americans to get them kicked out of Power & Light. That practice, he says, was used 20 to 30 times in the summer of 2013.
Cusimano, an African American, says he was fired for no valid reason in September 2013 after Mosaic was changed from a hiphop music concept that was popular with African Americans.
We believe Cordish set up their own rabbit incident against Glen to trump up a reason to fire him, said Linda S. Dickens, an attorney for Cusimano in Overland Park. Since then, we believe his name was slandered and defamed.
Cordish officials said Cusimanos firing was justified and they have evidence that he assaulted a handcuffed person during the alleged rabbit incident. Cusimano was arrested and charged with assault by Kansas City police in connection with that incident.
In a statement, Cordish attorney Bob Fowler said the lawsuit accusations are complete fabrications and 100 percent false.
Fowler said that Mosaic Nightclub had no choice but to terminate Mr. Cusimanos employment. Mosaic will vigorously defend Mr. Cusimanos outrageous allegations and intends to file its own counterclaims against Mr. Cusimano.
Fowler also said Cusimano had a felony fraud conviction that he failed to disclose to Mosaic. Federal records show Cusimano pleaded guilty to wire fraud in U.S. District Court in Kansas City in June 2005 and served nine months in prison.
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