State Trooper says he was fired for reporting affair

CHARLESTON -- A former West Virginia State Trooper says he was fired for telling his supervisor's wife that her husband was cheating on her.

Tom Wagner filed a lawsuit July 8 in Kanawha Circuit Court against the West Virginia State Police.

He claims that on July 13, 2007, he was fired because he told the woman that her husband was having an affair with an employee of the State Police.

Wagner admits he was not "tactful" in telling the woman, but asserts that he told her off-duty. He claims that his supervisor, who is not named in the complaint, took steps to have him terminated for something he doesn't believe is a dischargeable offense.

He's seeking compensatory damages.

Paul M. Stroebel is representing the plaintiff. The case is before Kanawha Circuit Judge Louis Bloom.

Kanawha Circuit Court case number: 09-C-1227