EX-SPARTA POLICE OFFICERS, FIRED AFTER REPORTING MISCONDUCT, TO GET NEW HEARING

December 28, 2007

By TOM HOWELL JR. (NJ Herald)

Ex-Sparta police officers, fired after reporting misconduct, to get new hearing

Two former Sparta police officers said they were "ecstatic" to learn their whistleblower suit against the township — which was dismissed in 2006 — has been reinstated by the appeals court.

Former officers Arthur Monto and William Karasik filed the lawsuit in 2003 under the Conscientious Employee Protection Act, claiming they faced retaliation for reporting a consensual groping between two township employees, and for complaining when nothing was done.

Monto and Karasik were "ultimately terminated on March 9, 2004, for "insubordination, failure to perform duties, conduct unbecoming, neglect of duty, and other sufficient cause," police said, according to a 40-page opinion from the Appellate Division.

But this week, the appeals panel ruled "a jury could reasonably conclude that all the alleged incidents combined to demonstrate a pattern of retaliatory conduct that is specifically prohibited under CEPA."

Plaintiffs' attorney Erika A. Appenzeller was overjoyed by the decision.

"We thought the trial court was wrong all along and we're looking for full vindication once we get back to the trial court," she said.

The chain of events began when Monto and Karasik reported a consensual groping between a male sergeant and a female records clerk in a public records room, the opinion states.

The incident occurred while the township was "highly sensitive to the issues of sexual impropriety" in the department amid a scandal regarding a female officer who posed for nude and semi-nude pictures while on duty. That officer was suspended and later fired.

"I think it had some impact as far as (the department's) awareness, or what they should have been aware of," Appenzeller said. "It's fair to think the public was somewhat scrutinizing their local police department."

Monto and Karasik claim their whistle blowing was greeted with inaction and then retaliation, including ridicule and death threats from fellow officers, the opinion states.

Township manager Henry Underhill said he is aware of the Appellate ruling, but will reserve comment until he speaks to attorneys and reviews the court's opinion.

Attorney John M. Bowens, who filed a legal brief on behalf of the township, did not return a call for comment.

The township can now file for certification to the Supreme Court — which may then review the case — or the case will go back to a trial judge in Sussex County.