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The former mayor of Forest Heights has hit the town with a $15 million lawsuit after he says he was wrongfully ousted from office in 2006.

Myles Spires filed a nine-count complaint Monday in the Circuit Court of Prince George's County alleging malicious abuse of process, malicious prosecution, wrongful discharge, invasion of privacy, negligence and intentional infliction of emotional distress.

The suit names six current and former Town Council members, including Mayor Andrea McCutcheon, former mayor Larry Stoner, Councilwoman Carmelita Lynn Smith-Barnes, former Councilman Wilmer Ticer and former Councilman George Wiggers.

Spires contends that his life was left in shambles after wrongly being accused of misusing public funds when he was the town mayor in late 2006 ultimately resulting in him being permanently removed from office by the spring of 2007.

He filed a civil suit in March 2007 and continued filing motions and appeals relating to the case up until March of this year, when he was cleared of all charges, leaving many in the town to believe that years of legal battles between the town and Spires were finally over.

But in the suit, Spires claims that in the months after the investigation, he was subjected to his home being raided by state officials and being barred from entering the town's administration building, as well as loss of income from his job as a technical consultant after his contracts were canceled during the legal proceedings.

"It was a rough time and it still is," Spire said, who still lives in the town. "There is a [permanent] mark on me because of what they did."

Town officials said they were largely unsurprised that Spires had filed yet another lawsuit against the town.

"All he cares about is getting money the easy way," Stoner said. "I don't know anybody that's filed more lawsuits."

McCutcheon, who has yet to see the lawsuit, said she, too, was unmoved by the lawsuit because Spires is so frequently involved in legal disputes with the town.

"That's the par for the course for him — he has sued us before," she said. "I don't see him getting anything [from the lawsuit]."

In March 2007, a county court handed down a seven-count indictment against Spires on charges of embezzling public funds, and Spires was sentenced to three months in prison, eventually serving house arrest.

E-mail Joshua Garner at jgarner@gazette.net.