Manistee’s former director of public works – accused of selling scrap metal for personal gain – is suing the city, claiming malicious prosecution for embezzlement cost him election to the Manistee City Council.

Manistee officials and a special prosecutor announced the criminal investigation just four days before John Garber’s name appeared on the Nov. 2013 ballot for Manistee City Council.

Garber, a city employee for 43 years, suffered “great emotional distress and economic loss’’ from having lost the election by just 16 votes, according to the lawsuit filed this week in U.S. District Court in Grand Rapids.

Garber was prosecuted for embezzlement, a 10-year felony, but a Manistee County Circuit Court judge in Dec. 2014 dismissed the case.

Garber served 15 years as head of the city’s Department of Public Works.  Employees routinely picked up abandoned scrap metal and took it to the junkyard for cash, with proceeds used for Christmas, retirement and end-of-summer parties, the lawsuit claims.

The annual Christmas party, the lawsuit says, was attended by members of the Manistee City Council, governmental officials and City Manager Mitchell Deisch.

But things went south because Deisch wanted to give Garber’s job to a personal friend, the lawsuit claims.

In order to get Garber out of office, city officials came up with trumped-up allegations of embezzlement and forced him to resign, the lawsuit claims.

The lawsuit seeks damages of more than $75,000 for a litany of grievances, including malicious prosecution that caused “mental anguish, emotional distress and damage to his professional reputation,’’ the 21-page complaint says.

“There was no reason why the issuance of the arrest warrant could not have taken place after the election,’’ attorney Jamil Akhtar wrote in the complaint. “Timing was everything in destroying (Garber’s) chances to be elected to the City Council.’’

The unsuccessful bid for city council, the suit claims, resulted in “great emotional distress and economic loss.’’

Manistee city officials were not immediately available for comment on Thursday.