Hamilton Mayor Kelly Yaede has reinstated former Business Administrator John Ricci, who was fired last week by then-mayor Kevin Meara.

“The prudent decision was to rescind the termination of John Ricci as Business Administrator due to his proven experience and dedication to Hamilton Township,” Yaede said in a press release.

It is not certain yet whether Ricci's reinstatement will need to go before the council before it becomes permanent. Ricci had been the town's business administrator since mid-2008 before being fired by Meara last Monday.

Yaede replaced Meara as mayor after a contentious council meeting Friday. Meara stepped in as mayor from his position as council president following the resignation of former Mayor John Bencivengo two weeks ago.

A jury convicted Bencivengo of taking $12,400 in bribes from the government’s cooperating witness, Marliese Ljuba, in exchange for his influence with the Hamilton Board of Education, so that she could keep her lucrative health insurance brokerage for her employer, Allen Associates.