Local News in Brief : Aide Who Helped Lure Raiders Fired

The redevelopment consultant who helped make Irwindale a fiscal powerhouse and lured the Los Angeles Raiders into an agreement to relocate to one of the city’s gravel pits has been ousted from his lucrative position.

Frederick P. Lyte, who claimed credit for bringing more than $600 million in redevelopment projects to Irwindale over the last 12 years, was fired after a 45-minute closed-door meeting of the City Council. The consultant stormed out of the special meeting after the council terminated his contract and offered an agreement that Lyte said would have drastically cut his pay.

At the meeting, Lyte accused Mayor Pat Miranda of mounting a vendetta against him and of trying to sabotage the Raiders deal.

Lyte’s departure leaves one member of the city’s negotiating team, City Manager Charles Martin, to work with the Raiders to bring the 18-month-old deal to fruition.

In May, Xavier Hermosillo, a city spokesman who also played a part in the negotiations, was fired by the council. Hermosillo and the city are engaged in a dispute over $54,000 that Hermosillo said is owed him for work on the $115-million stadium project.

John Herrera, senior executive for the Raiders, said, “It’s a bit disconcerting that two of the three people who negotiated with us are no longer part of the (city’s) team,” but he reiterated the Raiders’ commitment to relocate to Irwindale.