ELYRIA — Ralph Isabella was fired from Spitzer Auto World because he served his country in the Ohio National Guard and because he blew the whistle on improprieties he saw while working at the car dealership, his attorney told jurors Tuesday during the first day of Isabella’s wrongful termination trial.

But Spitzer attorney Anthony Giardini told a different story. Isabella, he said, was a chronic complainer who engaged in the very practice he supposedly blew the whistle on, had trouble with his paperwork, and had planned to leave the job and return to military life full time.

Giardini also convinced county Common Pleas Judge Mark Betleski to allow him to introduce evidence that Isabella bragged about looting jewelry from the dead while he was deployed to New Orleans in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina in 2005.

Isabella’s attorney, Ed FitzGerald, had argued against allowing testimony about unproven allegations against Isabella that had never led to criminal charges against his client, saying it could prejudice the jury. The incident never happened, he said.

FitzGerald said Isabella, who also served a 16-month tour of duty in Iraq, was entitled to return to his job — where he had earned positive reviews — even though he was deployed with little notice to help with the hurricane relief effort.

“Mr. Isabella is not trying to drape himself in the flag,” FitzGerald said.

Isabella, he said, also pointed out to his supervisor a practice that was common at the dealership, in which a Dodge-certified salesperson would report to the automaker that he sold a vehicle and collected a small commission, even if an uncertified salesperson had sold the car. Uncertified salespeople, FitzGerald said, weren’t eligible for the extra commission.

But Giardini said Isabella was hired into a dealership that was struggling to sell automobiles and immediately started complaining that he wasn’t making enough money as sales manager. Isabella, Giardini said, was given a job as a finance and insurance salesperson where he had the opportunity to make more money, but he wasn’t happy there, either.

Giardini said Isabella was with Spitzer for about seven months in 2005 before he was fired after refusing to quit over the problems that were discovered in paperwork.

The issue of extra commissions from Dodge was dealt with, Giardini said, but that was before Isabella brought it to his supervisor’s attention.

The trial is scheduled to resume today.

Contact Brad Dicken at 329-7147 or bdicken@chroniclet.com.

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