Carbon County’s chief public defender has been terminated, but details regarding the county’s reason on why they felt he should be let go after making his position full time in March have not been released.

On Thursday, the board of commissioners approved the termination of Gregory L. Mousseau of Jim Thorpe, who was the temporary full-time chief public defender trainee since earlier this month at a salary of $90,000 a year.

A representative for Mousseau’s family said Thursday evening that Mousseau had sent the commissioners his letter of resignation Thursday morning and this was a resignation, not a termination.

Mousseau did not comment on the matter at this time.

The salary board made Mousseau’s position full time, effective April 5, at the March 4 salary board meeting.

At that time, the board approved the position salary change from $62,431.76 a year to $90,000, saying that the change would result in a savings of approximately $26,000 because an assistant public defender had just resigned and was not being replaced, but rather combined with Mousseau’s position.

Commissioners’ Chairman Wayne Nothstein, on March 4, said because of the resignation, the county “felt it was a good time to make this move to a full-time position and eliminate a position in the office.”

He noted that the public defender’s office was the only county department with a part-time head with full-time employees under him.

When asked on Thursday why the termination occurred after all the recent moves, Nothstein said that it was a personnel matter.

Commissioner Chris Lukasevich, on his personal commissioner Facebook page, said that the reason for the termination was “The Board of Commissioners lost confidence in the his (and at-will employee) ability to manage and operate the office. As you are well aware, can’t go beyond that due to it being a personal matter and like all terminations and almost anything these days, subject to legal challenge.”

Lukasevich’s comment was a reply to a commenter questioning the termination of the chief public defender.

Mousseau, who has his own private practice, had served as the chief public defender for Carbon County since January 2002 after then chief public defender Robert Yurchak was fired from the position by then Commissioners Tom C. Gerhard and Nothstein.

He claimed in a lawsuit against the pair, as well as then Commissioner Charles Getz, that Gerhard and Nothstein fired him because he ran for a judicial seat available in the county and opposed the candidate both commissioners strongly supported.

The suit was settled outside of court in 2007 and a judge awarded Yurchak $525,000, about half the compensation he had initially asked for.