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Casino nightlife manager sues Atlantic City Mayor Frank Gilliam over $5K loan

Atlantic City Mayor Frank Gilliam's legal troubles continue with a lawsuit by a woman represented by former Lt. Gov. Kim Guadagno

Atlantic City Mayor Frank Gilliam leaves the North Wildwood Municipal Court in North Wildwood, NJ on February 28, 2019. The assault complaints against Gilliam and Councilman Jeffree Fauntleroy were dismissed. Fauntleroy will pay a $500 fine on obstruction of traffic ordinance violation, stemming from a melee outside an Atlantic City casino. (David Maialetti / Staff Photographer/Philadelphia Inquirer/TNS)
Atlantic City Mayor Frank Gilliam leaves the North Wildwood Municipal Court in North Wildwood, NJ on February 28, 2019. The assault complaints against Gilliam and Councilman Jeffree Fauntleroy were dismissed. Fauntleroy will pay a $500 fine on obstruction of traffic ordinance violation, stemming from a melee outside an Atlantic City casino. (David Maialetti / Staff Photographer/Philadelphia Inquirer/TNS)Read moreDavid Maialetti / MCT

ATLANTIC CITY — Former New Jersey Lt. Gov. Kim Guadagno is no stranger to taking on mayors of Atlantic City, not to mention trying to squeeze some money out of the financially strapped city.

That was something the Christie administration did with relish.

But this week, Guadagno was acting as personal attorney to a nightclub entertainment director who has filed suit against Mayor Frank Gilliam to get a $5,000 loan repaid.

The lawsuit continues the mayor’s legal woes related to his relationships with people at Haven Nightclub, in addition to an ongoing federal investigation into his campaign and other finances.

The woman, Meredith Godfrey, is nightlife director at Haven, the nightclub at the Golden Nugget casino, where three employees recently agreed to dismiss assault complaints against the mayor stemming from a fight that also involved City Councilman Jeffree Fauntleroy.

Sources have said the melee, which was captured on video, followed an argument inside the nightclub by another Haven employee who confronted Gilliam about a $5,000 loan.

Guadagno would not say whether that was the same $5,000 featured in the lawsuit. She did say that she attempted to contact Gilliam to get him to repay the loan without going to court. Guadagno said the complaint could have been handled without an attorney, but given that the dispute involved the mayor, Godfrey reached out to her.

“She decided to reach out to someone who understood the lay of the land,” said Guadagno, now a partner at the law firm of Connell Foley.

The lawsuit, first reported by the Save Jersey website, alleges a “close personal relationship” between Godfrey and the mayor, a favorite of New Jersey power brokers who remains under investigation by the FBI and IRS.

It says the loan was made to Gilliam to allow him to “pay an attorney for trademark advice regarding a tourism slogan for Atlantic City.” There was no comment Thursday from Gilliam, who has often used the phrase “Why Not A.C.?” on social media.