Kevin Humble was a no-nonsense Moon administrator who blew the whistle on a scheme that allowed his boss and others to use tax-free gasoline for personal use.

Or, was Mr. Humble a malcontent who got fired as finance manager because he couldn't do his job?

The day-and-night portrayals of Mr. Humble's performance were outlined in the wrongful termination suit he filed July 31 in Allegheny County Common Pleas Court. A hearing date has not been set.

Meanwhile, the state auditor general's office has recommended that the township pay back taxes of about $11,500.

In a July 10 letter to the IRS, Moon supervisors and the state Department of Revenue, Auditor General Jack Wagner said Moon should have kept better records to show how Mr. Smith and others used the gas.

"The township had received a tax exemption because the gasoline was to be used exclusively for government purposes. It is our position," Mr. Wagner wrote, "that because there is no documentation to show that the gasoline was used solely for township business, the township is liable for the state and federal gasoline taxes on the gasoline."

The review did not attempt to access blame on anybody and did not say that any of the nine employees, including Manager Greg Smith and assistant manager Jodi Noble, actually abused the policy. But lacking any evidence to the contrary, Mr. Wagner said the taxes ought to be paid. The review covered 2002 through 2005.

Mr. Smith acknowledged that the policy was outdated, lacked proper documentation and that some, if not all, of the taxes would have to be paid by himself, other employees or the township. But in response to the Humble suit, he said the township knew there were problems before Mr. Humble came on board in June 2005. In fact, he said, Mr. Humble was hired was to recommend how to fix things.

Mr. Smith disputed that Mr. Humble's firing was a retaliatory measure based on his uncovering of some secret scheme. According to Mr. Smith, the policy cited by Mr. Humble had been in place since 1960.

The policy allowed municipal employees to fuel up at the township pump using a special code and then charge the gas against their monthly personal-vehicle allowance, which had reached $200 before the policy was eliminated in November. All workers are now reimbursed under IRS guidelines.

The employees were not charged federal or state liquid fuel tax for the gas purchased, which ranged from 5,812 to 6,635 gallons a year. The township didn't pay liquid fuels taxes on the gasoline, either.

Since it was Mr. Humble's job to review the old policy, Mr. Smith likened Mr. Humble's suit to a plumber being hired to fix a problem, finding a leak, then filing a suit for doing what he was supposed to.

As to why Mr. Humble was fired after five months, Mr. Smith referred to the reasons cited in the suit: that his "work on the 2006 budget was unsatisfactory and that his reports were late." In addition, Mr. Smith said the former finance manager was arrogant and difficult to work with.

Mr. Humble, who was fired in November, seeks in excess of $25,000 in back pay and related damages. According to his suit, he was given the "official Moon Township kiss of death" on Sept. 29 and officially fired one month later. Mr. Humble said his budget reports were intentionally waylaid by his superiors as they built a false case for his dismissal.

The suit claims that Mr. Humble was fired because earlier that summer he had reported to his superiors that they and seven others were breaking IRS expense-reimbursement rules.

Mr. Humble said he cited two issues: first, that the workers should not use tax-free pumps for personal use; second, several employees were paid cash instead of health insurance benefits. This second issue is not addressed by the state report.