John Chick, the former Cayuga County worker who pleaded guilty to illegally removing asbestos from a county office building, was fired Friday after a lengthy legal process.

Chick said Friday night that he couldn't discuss his case because he hadn't yet spoken to his attorney or seen any legal paperwork regarding his job status. They (the county) must have heard back from the hearing officer," he said. "I went to get my pay stub today and they said, '"You're terminated.'"

Chick, a county carpenter who has been on paid suspension for most of the past year, pleaded guilty in January 2007 to illegally removing asbestos from the county Board of Elections building in February 2006. Chick has insisted he was simply following orders, and should be given a light sentence. But federal prosecutors said Chick has been deceptive throughout their investigation and they likely will not be charging anyone else in connection with the case.

Chick was U.S. District Court Judge Frederick J. Scullin Jr. has set sentencing for 11 a.m. Feb. 20 in Syracuse. The judge set the date following hearing dates in the fall in which attorneys made their cases for what the sentence should be. Those hearings included the testimony of then-Cayuga County Legislature Chairman George Fearon, who said he did not know about the illegal activity until months after it took place.

Read the full report in Saturday's edition of The Citizen.