MEDIA & PRESS

The jury agreed she had been passed over for a promotion in January 2006 after testifying before a federal grand jury, and after portions of a memo she wrote criticizing the university appeared in The Star-Ledger, said her attorney Charles Sciarra of Clifton.

But the jury did not find she lost her $74,641-a-year job in retaliation for her whistleblower actions, Sciarra said. During the 10-day trial before Superior Court Judge Mark Baber in Hudson County, the jury learned she was one of 100 people the university terminated around the same time, he said.

Caprarola still feels vindicated after the jury ordered the university to pay her $265,000 in punitive damages, Sciarra said. On Wednesday the jury awarded her $84,000 day in compensatory damages, for emotional distress and lost wages.

“The jury sent a clear message with their award for punitive damages, that you’ve got to take some action to encourage, not discourage people who blow the whistle,” Sciarra said. “Carol was asking for help and they kept turning their backs. No one cared. This is the cost of their indifference.”

UMDNJ spokesman Jeffrey Tolvin called the verdict disappointing” because “actions by UMDNJ in this matter were taken after careful and thorough evaluation.”

At the same time, the university is “pleased that the jury dismissed the allegations suggesting that the actions taken were retaliatory in nature,” Tolvin said.

Responding to UMDNJ’s statement, Sciarra said: “It appears they still don’t get it. When it came to particular acts aimed at her, the jury found there was retaliation in a big way.”

Caprarola contended she was fired after testifying before a grand jury in 2006 about a memo she had written criticizing the university for maintaining a political slush fund. As a public university, UMDNJ was precluded from conducting political activities, she advised.

The law “certainly supports the consideration of removing ourselves now from the business of political contributions,” she wrote in the Oct. 29, 2004 memo, obtained by the Star-Ledger. “The climate is perfect for us to just say ‘no.’”

UMDNJ had contributed more than $57,000 to state and local officials from a “Community Events” fund over three years, according to campaign records obtained by the newspaper. The university at the time said the money came from private foundations.

Caprarola’s memo was uncovered by the university during an investigation of its own government affairs department, and was turned over to the U.S. Attorney’s office.

A former program director and manager for a Newark not-for-profit community based service organization settled her whistle-blower claim against her former employer for the amount of $250,000.  The former employee, who brought a claim under the New Jersey state whistle-blower statute, was terminated from her employment as a result of her numerous complaints to her supervisor and her employer’s executive director about unsafe and hazardous conditions that posed a significant risk to the health, safety and welfare to employees and citizens, including children who were participating in various educational programs and activities.  (Firm Entry)

A former director for student activities for a New Jersey state university settled his whistle-blower claim against his former employer for the amount of $225,000.  The former employee, who brought a claim under the New Jersey state whistle-blower statute, was terminated from his employment as a result of his complaints to his supervisors and numerous deans of the university regarding financial irregularities with regard to funds allocated to the student government which were to be used for student activities and organizations. (Firm Entry)

The rumors, which were not corroborated by an Internal Affairs report, created a harassing environment for Delntinis, the lawsuit contended. Following the rumors, Deintinis said in the suit, officers would “blow kisses” on the police radio while she was on patrol and cut off her radio transmissions. In an amended complaint filed last year in state Superior Court in Paterson, Dentinis alleged that Police Chief Daniel Paton retaliated against her for the sexual harassment lawsuit by not allowing her a shift transfer.

“She is looking forward to continuing to serve with the integrity and proficiency she has demonstrated throughout her career as a Police Officer in the city of Passaic,” said DeIntinis’ attorney, Charles Sciarra.
Lawyers for the city declined comment and a spokesman for Mayor Alex Blanco did not return phone calls. Samuel Rivera was the mayor during all but the conclusion of the case.

The settlement clears DeIntinis’ Internal Affairs record of any reference to the incident that sparked the lawsuit and another departmental charge, according to court documents. The suit also precludes the city from admitting guilt.

The two sides filed conflicting accounts of what occurred, but they agree on some elements. On April 26, 2005, DeIntinis was on patrol in the city’s southwest sector. Sometime that night, the Police Department’s dispatch center received a report from an anonymous caller who said it looked like an officer was being assaulted at Gregory and Passaic avenues – where DeIntinis had met with her former patrol partner, Claudio Mella.

DeItinis argued that during her conversation with Mella, several officers arrived and confirmed that everything was fine with DeIntinis. The city maintained, however, that one of the responding officers, Sgt. Louis Gentile, lied to Internal Affairs investigators that there were any officers in the alley.
In his deposition, Diaz said his officers on Gentile lied that there was no one there and why DeIntinis failed to radio into dispatch when requested. DeIntinis’ suit contends she was in contact with headquarters.

Although Sciarra named Diaz personally as a defendant, Superior Court Judge Anthony Graziano ruled in April that Diaz could not be held financially responsible because he was acting as a public employee. Still in depositions, Diaz admitted – after significant verbal fencing with Sciarra – that he thought DeIntinis was performing oral sex because of rumors about her in the past.

“When I was a walking officer many, many years ago there were sexual rumors when she wasn’t a police officer that she used to come out at night and hang out with the police officers, but that was many years ago,” Diaz said during depositions.

Anthony DeIntinis, the plaintiff’s husband, was president of the local police union at the time of the incident.

Diaz did not comment on Wednesday and Paton declined comment.

The settlement occurred about the same time a jury awarded $650,000 to a city sanitation truck driver who alleged he was subject to a hostile work environment because he is black.

The city also settled a sex discrimination lawsuit last year by the city’s first female firefighter. In November, the city agreed to pay former firefighter Glorimar Silva instead of going to court.

He added that he would drop a court request to force the borough to pay part of Yirce’s attorney’s fees and other fines as long as the settlement is paid by Sept. 25, a court deadline for a judge to hear his request.

The council’s 4-1 vote in favor of the agreement mirrors an informal tally taken when the agreement was first discussed in May, according to court documents.

Catrambone accused the borough of trying to back out of that agreement after two members said at a subsequent meeting that they had changed their minds and would vote against it, according to a court motion he filed.

The council revisited the issue in another closed session meeting last week, shortly after receiving a stern letter from its insurance fund, whose attorney had helped negotiate the original deal. The letter said the insurance fund would not pay for additional court costs or damages beyond its share in the original deal.
Mayor Steve Weinstein said he struggled with the decision but voted in favor of the settlement, because the borough’s attorneys advised the council that there was a strong chance that they would lose if the case went to court.

“This was a business decision in terms of saving the taxpayers possible additional dollars moving ahead,” he said.

Joseph Tedeschi, who cast the dissenting vote, said he thought the borough had enough documentation to defend itself against Yirce’s complaints, which included allegations that he was passed up for promotions, harassed and repeatedly made the victim of insulting pranks that associated him with crying babies.  ”I think it was an insult to the taxpayers of Fair Lawn and an insult to the officers of the Fair Lawn Police Department,” he said of the settlement.

He added that the case leaves the borough open to future litigation from disgruntled police officers.
“What are we going to do now?” he asked. “Have we set a precedent for when a police officer decides to sue, he starts taking notes and then he sues us and we settle?”

Weinstein disagreed, saying the settlement would have little effect on future lawsuits involving the Police Department, including four that have recently been filed or announced.

At least one of those cases, filed by Sgt. Mike Messina, overlaps with Yirce’s complaint. Messina, who worked under Yirce, claims that the department’s supervisors assigned him Yirce’s duties when they lost confidence in Yirce, but did not pay him for the additional responsibilities.

“I don’t think the Yirce case will have any effect on Messina,” Weinstein said. “Each case will rest on its own merits.”

The settlement won’t be considered final until it’s approved by the Borough Council. If the council gives the nod, taxpayers will be responsible for $30,000 of the sum, said Mayor Domenick Stampone, who confirmed the settlement amount. The rest will be paid by a borough insurer, he said.

Len, 45, began work for the department in 1986. In 2002, he told his wife and children he was gay and moved out of his family’s home.

Rumors swirled, and soon he was suffering from sexual discrimination, Len claimed. In his suit, Len said that he’d arrive for work three minutes late and be reprimanded, while other officers were routinely late and not disciplined. He further alleged that Mamkej once called over the police radio “Homo, homo, homo,” and Pengitore referred to Len as a “three dollar bill,” a derogatory term for a homosexual. Len claimed Pengitore and Mamkej tailed him in their cars while he was off duty. Len was up for promotion to lieutenant, he claimed, but was told he didn’t qualify because he didn’t hand in the necessary paperwork on time.

The council is set to consider the settlement Jan. 18.

The council has 45 days to approve the settlement, then 45 more days to pay the sum, according to Charles Sciarra, Len’s Clifton-based attorney.

The settlement also stipulates that past and pending charges brought against Len by the Police Department be expunged from his personnel file, and that any promotion practices in the future be done in “good faith,” Sciarra said, during proceedings in Judge Burrell Humphreys’ courtroom.

Sciarra said he advised Len not to comment for this story and “to look forward, not look back.” Mamkej could not be reached for comment. Pengitore said he didn’t want to comment.

Stampone is the newly elected Democratic mayor who defeated Pengitore, a Republican, in the mayoral race two months ago. He called the Len settlement an isolated incident – “not what the borough of Haledon is about.”

“Ms. Henry-Taylor conscientiously and unambiguously spoke out against the shameless attempts by top officials within UMDNJ’s administration to sweep under the rug UMDNJ’s fraudulent billing practices which resulted in the theft of millions of dollars of public funds,” Henry-Taylor’s attorneys, Charles Sciarra and Jeffrey Catrambone, said in a statement issued yesterday.
In her lawsuit, Henry-Taylor says she warned that the billing problems “would ‘ruin’ UMDNJ” and also raised concerns about millions of dollars in excessive bills – apart from the double-billing – filed with both public and private health insurance companies.

Henry-Taylor earned $117,000 as compliance officer at UMDNJ’s University Hospital in Newark. She worked there for three years until she was forced to resign last December. Then-UMDNJ president John Petillo ordered Henry-Taylor to quit at the direction of U.S. Attorney Christopher Christie after Christie’s office filed fraud charges against the university, forcing the school to submit to the authority of a federal monitor or risk being shut down.

UMDNJ spokeswoman Anna Farneski said university officials had not seen the lawsuit and could not comment.

Last month, a university billing manager charged he was harassed, demoted, then banished to a makeshift office in the lunchroom before he was suspended. Another finance official at the hospital sued UMDNJ, charging top officials conspired to obstruct a criminal investigation into the scandal-battered institution. And a project coordinator in UMDNJ’s government affairs office said her objections to a political slush fund got her fired.

The rash of cases follows a June settlement in which its former chief of cardiology was paid $2.2 million after alleging he was forced to leave the university because of his objections to an illegal scheme giving physicians no-show faculty jobs in exchange for patient referrals.

The lawsuit names the township as a whole, as well as Ricigliano, the Township Council and the police department.

The four officers — promoted in November just one day after the general election and while Choi was still mayor — were demoted days after Ricigliano took office on Jan. 1. The mayor said in her Jan. 26 State of the Township address that rolling back the police and fire promotions and the raises that accompanied them would save Edison “more than $200,000 in salaries alone,” not including benefit packages.

The officers had received the promotions and were sworn in to their new positions on Nov. 4. Then-Police Director Brian Collier promoted 10 officers. Among them, Anderko was made deputy chief, Marcantuono and Shannon became captains, and Masi was named a lieutenant. Collier also hired two entry-level police officers.

Keith Hahn, state delegate for the Edison Policemen’s Benevolent Association Local 75, which supported Ricigliano in her campaign, called the promotions “political payback” on Choi’s part.

However, Collier said it was he, and not Choi, who decided on the promotions. He said at the time that he made the promotions “all by myself because there are a vast amount of very capable officers. I put the money aside a while ago to do this.”

In their lawsuit, the four officers called the demotions “arbitrary and capricious” in nature, and call for a reversal of their demotions, along with compensatory and punitive damages, legal fees and costs associated with the litigation.

Charles J. Sciarra of Sciarra & Catrambone LLC, in Clifton, who represents the four officers, questioned the “budgetary crisis” reasoning that was given for the demotions.

“It was [Ricigliano’s] absolute first priority, allegedly for reasons of budgetary savings, yet [she] immediately hired two political supporters in newly created positions. … So much for the ‘budgetary crisis’ defense,” he said in a statement.

According to the complaint, Ricigliano announced that she had hired two political allies to newly created potions with the township government. Specifically, she created the position of management specialist, given to Bill Stephens, who unsuccessfully ran for mayor against Choi in 2006 and who was on Ricigliano’s ticket during the campaign. Ricigliano also created the position of special assistant to the mayor. The position was given to Anthony Russomano, who was Ricigliano’s campaign manager.

The officers said they were subject to the derogatory term “Choi boys” because of their support of Choi and his ideas for reforming the Edison Police Department.

“The ‘Choi boys’ were the targets of negative comments on Internet chat rooms and in the halls of the police department,” according to the complaint. A threat to “the Choi boys” was also left written on the chalkboard in the department after the June primary election, the complaint said.

Also, George Bandics, a retired deputy chief of detectives at the Middlesex County Prosecutor’s Office, appointed by Ricigliano to her transition team to review police matters, advised the new mayor in a written report that she should not conduct any demotions, according to the complaint. Bandics reportedly advised Ricigliano that the officers promoted should retain their positions because the department was heading in the right direction, as was shown by a recent state accreditation.

Ricigliano could not immediately be reached for comment, but a spokeswoman at her office said she had yet to be served with a copy of the lawsuit.

The woman, who was 25 at the time, accused the troopers of raping her after they allegedly met at a Trenton nightclub. Lawyers for the troopers said the sex, at the Ewing home of one of the troopers, was consensual. The troopers have never been criminally charged or publicly identified but were suspended without pay in October after an internal investigation.

TheTop of Formcourt said doubts about the the woman’s credibility helped persuade them to seal the case, saying her story has been “roundly discredited.”

“It is clear why this matter was never presented to a grand jury,” the court wrote in its decision. “The discovery raises very substantial doubt that any fact-finder will find that some or all of the activities were without the consent of the woman.”

The decision reverses orders issued by an administrative law judge and State Police superintendent Col. Rick Fuentes. Both had said the public interest in police conduct outweighs privacy concerns.

The accuser’s attorney, Nat Dershowitz, said he’s not concerned the hearings will be sealed but called the decision “shockingly poorly done,” saying the judges overstepped the question of confidentiality by addressing the facts of the case. “They simply made rash assumptions,” Dershowitz said. “They’re taking the police version before she’s had a chance to testify.”

Lee Moore, a spokesman for the Attorney General’s Office, said the state may ask the appellate division to reconsider. He declined comment beyond saying “transparency is important.”

Charles Sciarra, a lawyer for one of the troopers, said he hopes the state “comes to its senses” and drops the case. “As we’ve argued all along, this was consensual activity,” he said. “The state of New Jersey has no right to interfere.”

Robert Ebberup, the lawyer who filed the application to seal the case, said the previous attorney general, Anne Milgram, should not have pushed the case against the troopers.

“The taxpayers have been denied the services of seven talented, hard-working and decent state troopers for about two and a half years now,” he said. “There has been taxpayer money wasted on this.”

The guard, Michael C. Brown, was out of work for about five years, his attorney, Charles J. Sciarra of Clifton, said. Brown was reinstated seven months ago.

The payment to Brown is $210,000 for back pay and $65,000 in attorney fees, County Counsel Andrea Bazer said.

“When I reviewed this matter, I determined that settling it was is in the best economic interest of the county,” Bazer told the freeholders when they met Thursday. “There are new policies and procedures in place and there has not been a repeat of this situation since.”

Brown in 2004 was randomly selected for a drug test that was reported as positive for marijuana use, but the result was thrown out when a jail superior officer and a substance abuse program administrator offered sketchy testimony on testing procedures at a hearing.

“They tried to suppress the arrest of the councilman, who was later charged and convicted, and when Patrick Bland reported the matter to the authorities they targeted him and his career,” Catrambone wrote. “The jury saw through the borough’s denial and excuses.”

Catrambone said his firm plans to seek legal fees from the borough in excess of the damages already awarded.

Mayor Matt McHale, who said the borough plans to appeal the decision, said insurance will cover the award and warned that taxpayers may also have to foot the bill for legal fees.

The award will require “significant and draconian cuts’ to the town’s budget and services, McHale said.

“This is going to potentially cost us up to a million bucks, all because they tried to cover up the arrest of one of their political cronies,” Mchale said, referring to the Republicans who controlled the council at the time of the arrest.

The lawsuit grew of the July 2000 drunken-driving arrest of Fredericks. County prosecutors opened an investigation into former Republican Mayor Donald Winant and then-police Chief Michael Affrunti for allegedly ordering the council-man’s release before he was given a breath test.

Bland was denied promotions and forced to resign in December 2004 after 26 years with the department, Catrambone said. In 2006, the borough paid $200,000 to settle claims with two other officers for enforcing the law against elected officials. One officer was involved in the Fredericks case, and the second officer was accused of misusing police computers for investigation an illegal parking incident by another former councilman.

Prosecutors did file criminal charges against Affrunit, who was allowed to retired in latee 2000 as the trial against Fredericks began. Winant resigned in 2005 amid an unrelated financial scandal that swept Republicans from office.