Jonathan Rhodes quit effective Friday, according to the Mayor’s Office.

Cantrell, administration officials began meeting with Mastercard, MoCaFi and Ignite Cities to develop the Crescent City Card a year before publicly requesting bids for the project.

The suit comes the day after Councilwoman Helena Moreno initiated motions to hold three officials in contempt for failing to respond to subpoenas.

The city insisted on a specific equipment manufacturer for a WiFi contract. The company had previous dealings with firms and city employees at the center of the smart cities investigation.

An attorney for the employee said he believed electronics were also seized from other employees as well, but couldn’t confirm.

The documents include a draft contract and hundreds of emails showing frequent communications going back years between city officials, a ‘pro bono’ consultant and companies that would eventually win the city bid for the project.

The four-page letter does not address many of the council’s questions and concerns, but it does provide more information about the plan than was previously available.

The City Council still needs to approve the multi-year contract for the contract, but so far, that contract hasn’t been presented to the public or Council President Helena Moreno.

Emails show that city consulted with a ‘pro bono’ consultant connected to the winning bidder weeks before advertisements for bids went out.