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Counterclaim in Wahlburgers legal spat

The former business manager of Wahlburgers, the Hingham burger joint owned by Mark, Paul, and Donnie Wahlberg , claims he did nothing wrong and the brothers are to blame for any financial problems related to the restaurant. Edward St. Croix , who was accused of “improper conduct, gross mismanagement, and breaches of duties” in a lawsuit filed by the Wahlbergs in October, has responded with a lawsuit of his own. In the suit filed in Suffolk County Superior Court, St. Croix alleges that after he was removed from his job last May, the brothers and Wahlburgers CEO Rick Vanzura “fabricated” a claim that St. Croix mismanaged the company’s finances. “Contrary to the baseless complaints about St. Croix’s performance, it is in fact (Paul) Wahlberg, Vanzura, and Wahlberg’s brothers who have engaged in conduct harmful to the success of their joint enterprise,” the lawsuit states. That conduct, according to the suit, includes using company money to cover credit card expenses unrelated to the business; paying Paul Wahlberg’s wife a salary even though she allegedly didn’t do any work at the restaurant; and renting a private jet for Mark Wahlberg and then billing it to Alma Nove, another Hingham restaurant owned by the Wahlbergs. St. Croix, who claims he’s been defamed by the Wahlbergs, is seeking damages, as well as reimbursement of unpaid business expenses, and a declaration that he still has an ownership stake in the restaurant. Neither the Wahlbergs’ lawyer, Christopher Litterio, nor St. Croix’s lawyer, Sean Carnathan, returned calls Monday. It will be interesting to see if the ongoing legal spat becomes part of the reality TV show the Wahlbergs are proposing to make about Wahlburgers. Tuesday, Mark Wahlberg (along with Donnie and Paul) will be at Patriot Cinemas in Hingham to screen his new movie, “Broken City.”