Good Ol' Boys of Sparta Sued over Harassment; Allegations of Cover-Ups, Nepotism

March 5, 2003. Sparta Police Sergeant Gary Scymanski has filed a lawsuit against Chief Fred Geffken and Town Manager Henry Underhill claiming that they had harassed him and conspired to pass him over for promotion thereby violating state Civil Service rules. The complaint further alleges that Chief Geffken orchestrated the cover up of a DWI investigation involving his friend where members of Scymanski's squad were the arresting officers.

The hiring practices of the Sparta Police Department had previously come under scrutiny in July of 2001. Specifically, Sparta Town Manager Underhill had waived the nepotism policy when Sparta Police Chief Geffken's son-in-law, Marc Rubino, was hired by the Sparta Police Department. Prior to this, the township forbade the hiring of relatives of other township employees. Retired Sparta Police Officer Nick Irons son was passed over for a position in the late 1980's as a result of their policy on nepotism. Clearly, Nick Irons son should have been dating Chief Geffken's daughter had he wanted to work for the Sparta Police Department.