Friend Says He Was Told to Fire Mack

A union official testified Monday that General Dynamics managers forced him to fire Robert Earl Mack, a longtime friend, before Mack allegedly killed a labor negotiator and wounded another company official.

Arnold Castro, a union steward, represented Mack at the grievance hearing held before Michael Konz, 25, was killed and James English, 52, was wounded.

“I’m not responsible for firing people,” Castro testified on the fifth day of Mack’s trial. He added that the request to inform Mack that he had been terminated was “unusual--it never happens.”

Mack, 43, was a 23-year veteran of General Dynamics when he was suspended Jan. 3, allegedly for violating the company’s attendance policy. Castro testified Monday that he told Mack he had been fired after the suspension but before the Jan. 24 shooting.

Defense attorney Michael Roake is attempting to show the jury that Mack had been abandoned by a company that had been his entire life.

However, under questioning by Deputy Dist. Atty. Robert Sickels, Castro testified that he told Mack that the grievance hearing was going well.

“We thought we had a good chance--a good chance of winning,” Castro said.

The union representative also said he watched Mack chase Konz out of a building and shoot him dead.

“I seen the gun fire,” Castro said. “I seen the shell enter the back of his head, and I watched Michael (Konz) fall.”

Castro said Mack was only 4 to 5 feet away from the labor negotiator when he fired the fatal shot.