NJ.com, 26-Nov-14
By Kathryn Brenzel
A Weehawken police officer says Mayor Richard Turner is trying to intimidate him as well as witnesses in order to
silence his seven-year-old corruption claims against the township.
The attorney for Lt. Richard DeCosmis filed a motion on Nov. 14, claiming that the township is trying to fire DeCosmis from the township police department as "leverage to negotiate a favorable settlement," of his civil rights lawsuit or to drain him of his finances as court proceedings drag on, according to court documents.
The motion, filed in New Jerset federal court by attorney Louis Zayas, seeks to bar the township from firing DeCosmis and from disciplining witnesses who plan to testify in his trial, which will likely begin early next year. Zayas alleges that Turner and his "circle of political cronies" are trying to quash his client's corruption allegations by taking bogus disciplinary actions against DeCosmis and potential witnesses.
“This is outrageous. It’s not a matter of civil proceedings anymore. It’s criminal. It’s a mob,” Zayas said on Wednesday. “Mayor Turner and his political cronies are using government resources to go after those who report corruption.”
An attorney for the township, David Corrigan, called the motion "frivolous."
"These allegations are false. There's nothing to this," he said. "The only person who's trying to intimidate anyone is Mr. DeCosmis for filing this frivolous and false lawsuit."
He added that Zayas is well known for slinging mud at Hudson County officials. (He's represented several clients in litigation against Hudson County towns. He represents Assemblyman Carmelo Garcia in his latest lawsuit against Hoboken.)
"He says outlandish, reckless things to get his name in the newspaper," Corrigan said.
Turner would not comment on the case.
The motion is the latest development in litigation that has spanned seven years. DeCosmis filed his lawsuit in 2007, alleging that he faced retaliation after filing his first corruption lawsuit against the township.
In his 22 years on the force prior to 2007, DeCosmis hadn't faced any major discipline, Zayas said. But since he became involved in litigation against the township, he's faced three major disciplinary charges, the most recent of which claims he took excessive sick leave in 2012, according to the motion.
The motion seeks to bar Weehawken from taking any further action against DeCosmis and any township employee identified as a witness in his lawsuit. It also asks that independent investigators and hearing officers be appointed to review the disciplinary charges, alleging that they are "entirely retaliatory and without any scintilla of legitimacy."
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