By Rodney Point-Du-Jour, Asbury Park Press (New Jersey)
KEANSBURG, N.J. - Police Chief Raymond B. O’Hare returned to work yesterday after a two-year legal battle with the Borough Council, as attorneys continue negotiations on the final details of a settlement that will include about $300,000 in back pay.
Although the council passed a resolution to reappoint the suspended chief, a settlement between O’Hare and the borough has not been reached, officials said. Attorneys for both sides are expected to file a settlement with the state Merit System Board by early January, said Janeen Lawlor, a spokeswoman for the board.
Deputy Mayor Lisa Strydio, who has been involved in the negotiations, said the borough will not have to compensate O’Hare for his legal fees, but the chief will be entitled to back pay - benefits and salary for his 2 1/2-year suspension. In September, an administrative law judge recommended to the state board that O’Hare be terminated. The board had yet to rule on that recommendation before the council reinstated O’Hare.
Beginning yesterday, O’Hare will be paid $114,877 a year. When he was suspended, his salary was about $109,000.
O’Hare, 56, of Keansburg, had been suspended without pay since March 2002 on several administrative disciplinary charges, which included granting police officers time off in exchange for personal favors such as helping to waterproof his son’s basement, and using the police force to intimidate elected officials who had campaigned to reform the Police Department.
Back in the office
Yesterday, O’Hare spent his first day on the job in his office. His desk was topped with gift baskets of fruit from residents, and he periodically answered phone calls from well-wishers.
“It’s good to be back,” O’Hare said between calls. He had started his day with a 7 a.m. Mass at St. Ann’s Roman Catholic Church before reporting for duty at 7:45 a.m. at headquarters.
Outside the headquarters as he went inside, passers-by waved, and across the street at the New Point Comfort Fire Company building, volunteers also greeted the chief.
The terms of the settlement will include a retroactive six-month unpaid suspension in exchange for O’Hare dropping his lawsuit against the borough, Strydio said. Despite the ongoing negotiations, O’Hare deserved to be reappointed for his years of duty to the borough, she said.
“After 33 years of service, we’re supposed to walk away?” said Strydio. “This town has never looked so bad.”
Even though he will drop his lawsuit against the borough, O’Hare said he will continue to pursue legal action against former Mayor Michael Minervini, former Councilman Michael Coppola and Keansburg Housing Authority Commissioner Karen Goode.
O’Hare said that although he wants to make a positive new beginning as chief, he believes the former council members, as well as Goode, pursued a vendetta against him to get him fired.
“They took things and threw things at me just so they could have an opportunity to show that something was wrong,” O’Hare said. “It was a disgrace for what they did, and they have to answer for that.”
Minervini - a member of the political slate United for Change, which took control of the Borough Council in the 2000 election - said that the borough’s insurance carrier is still covering the legal defense for himself, Coppola and Goode, and that current borough officials are misleading the public.
Minervini also said the borough fell short in reaching the settlement.
“They should have negotiated on no back pay and he should drop all of his lawsuits so the town doesn’t go into a deeper debt liability,” Minervini said. “They didn’t negotiate in good faith, and they acted too quick-ly.”
Three years ago, the United for Change members on the coun-cil ordered the investigation of the Police Department and hired Haddon Heights attorney Gary F. Stowell to conduct the assessment.
As of Feb. 29, the borough had paid nearly $779,500 to Stowell’s law firm.
The investigation of the depart-ment led to the suspensions in spring 2002 of three senior offi-cers: O’Hare, Deputy Chief James K. Pigott and Inspector Joseph A. Auer Jr. The council reinstated Auer and Pigott in September.
But this year, three United for Change council members lost their seats in May’s election, surrendering control of the governing body to the Restore the Pride slate.
Fans and skeptics
Monmouth County Prosecutor John Kaye said he was glad to see O’Hare reinstalled to his position as chief in a town where crime has been a great concern.
Across the street from the Po-lice Department, Steve Rogan, 41, leaning against a pickup truck in front of the New Point Comfort Fire Company, said he was glad to have O’Hare back as chief.
"(The borough) laid off eight cops, we’ve been fighting drugs, and there’s crime every-where,” Rogan said. “We have cops getting hurt on the job, and no one is doing anything about it.”
Along Main Street, some resi-dents said they backed the deci-sion to reinstate O’Hare, plac-ing the value of the chief’s law enforcement experience above the allegations and mud-sling-ing of the past few years.
"(O’Hare) has been here for years and years,” said Richard Maytidu, 53. “He’s done every-thing to help the town. He’s all for the town.”
“He’ll straighten out all the peo-ple that are in this town,” said Ethel Landi, who declined to provide her age. “Everybody’s happy.”
Others expressed concern about the move and about O’Hare’s ability to rise above the controversy and step back into his position.
“I felt he should have been ter-minated for all the allegations against him,” said John Smith, 33. “I think it’s definitely not in the interest of the taxpayers of this town to have him back in power.”
“It’s bad for the town, that’s all I can say,” said Rob Slover, 19. “He’s not for the force. When he’s here, the town will go un-der again.”