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Vineland cops, county prosecutor named in corruption lawsuit
By Alex Young/South Jersey Times
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on January 09, 2013 at 1:23 PM, updated January 09, 2013 at 1:45 PM
VINELAND — Twenty-four defendants associated with Vineland, Cumberland County and New Jersey State law enforcement were named in a lawsuit filed in United States District Court, in Camden, on Dec. 18. Aemer K. C. El contends that corruption led to him being wrongfully arrested, maliciously prosecuted and forced into pleading guilty to a city ordinance violation, according to the lawsuit.
County Prosecutor Jennifer Webb-McRae and Vineland Police Chief Timothy Codispoti are among the defendants named in the suit. El was arrested on April 21, 2010, while in bed at a home on the 200 block of West Park Avenue and was charged with two counts each of possession of a stun gun and possession of crack cocaine, as well as one count each of obstruct administration of law, hindering own prosecution and distribution of crack cocaine.
“Plaintiff alleges that he was a victim of racial profiling policies developed in the ongoing war on drugs i.e. the ‘New Jim Crow’ which he believes the defendants’ corruption is based around,” the lawsuit reads. “Plaintiff contends that ‘Jim Crow is alive and well in Cumberland County.” He argues that several of his Constitutional rights were infringed, including protection from search and seizure without probable cause and the right to a speedy trial.
His final appearance in court was on Nov. 8, when he said that Vineland Municipal Court Judge, John Kaspar and other court officials used the threat of jailing him on a bench warrant to get him to plead guilty to a disorderly persons’ offense that levied a $288 fine. The other charges against him were dismissed. He believes he was wrongfully convicted of the disorderly persons offense and alleges that law enforcement officials at every level, from police officers to the prosecutor’s office, conspired against him.
The lawsuit charges the defendants with 26 counts including the deprivation of Constitutional and Civil rights. The Cumberland County Board of Chosen Freeholders, the New Jersey State Attorney General and the State of New Jersey were also named in the suit.
Staff reporter Don E. Woods contributed to this article.
Contact Alex Young at 856-451-1000 ext. 550 or alexyoung@southjerseymedia.com
Vineland police officer tries to blow whistle on department
By Jason Laday/South Jersey Times
on May 07, 2010 at 1:42 PM, updated May 07, 2010 at 1:45 PM
VINELAND — A 10-year veteran of the Vineland Police Department is seeking action against his superiors and the city for allegedly trying to silence him as he attempted to disclose possible illegal, drug-related activities of his fellow police officers.
Officer Ronald Farabella, in a civil suit filed in Cumberland County Superior Court on Jan. 21, alleges his superiors on the force, including Police Chief Timothy Codispoti and current Mayor Robert Romano — who at the time of the events described in the suit was a lieutenant in charge of internal affairs — repeatedly ignored his reports, both written and verbal, of drug-related crimes committed by specific officers.
In addition, the suit accuses the superior officers of repeatedly disciplining Farabella in retaliation for pursuing an investigation into the illegal activity, including suspensions and removal from the police department’s narcotics unit.
According to the 10-page suit, Farabella learned about the allegedly illegal police activity through confidential informants, with whom he had worked on cases for the department’s narcotics unit.
Farabella considers the sources credible, as their information has lead to arrests and prosecutions in the past, according to the suit.
“(Farabella) received on multiple occasions and through multiple sources of information, consistent and disturbing facts with regard to fellow police officers committing crimes within the city, most often focusing on illegal controlled substance use, distribution and participation with known and convicted felons,” reads the suit.
“(Farabella’s) Herculean effort in attempting to report and disclose that information through his supervisors in the Vineland City Police Department, has resulted in significant, permanent personal damages which continue to this day.”
Farabella states he first brought his suspicions to the attention of his command staff in March 2006, to Sgt. Paul Shadlinger.
Farabella recalled Shadlinger reacting negatively to his report, and, three months later, he determined that no investigation into apparent police corruption had been initiated.
After additional meetings with Shadlinger and three more months of apparent inaction by the department, Farabella filed a written report.
The report eventually found its way to Detective Lt. Thomas Ulrich’s desk.
“The lieutenant, visibly upset and angered, berated and cursed (Farabella) for committing the information to a written report,” reads the suit.
Later, Farabella was called before Ulrich, Shadlinger and Capt. Rudy Beu, who “impressed upon the plaintiff the need for secrecy.”
Although they assured Farabella the matter was being looked into, none would confirm that the report would be forwarded to internal affairs, he said.
The suit then describes how Farabella met with Romano, who, in Farabella’s estimation, was “simply not interested.”
The officer then went to the top of his department.
In a meeting with Codispoti, during an “Open Door Policy Day,” Farabella laid out his experiences in trying to open an investigation into apparent police corruption.
However, that meeting also proved fruitless and no investigation followed.
A year after receiving initial reports of police corruption, Farabella in March 2007 again heard of apparent illegal activity perpetrated by police officers — this time from confidential informants within the Bloods street gang.
Farabella then put down everything he heard into a report he brought to the Cumberland County Prosecutor’s Office.
However, when Farabella related that he had gone to the county, the Vineland chief of police grew angry and later directed that he be suspended for “jumping the chain of command, according to the suit.
“The chief was clearly angered by the facts that an additional report had been lodged, and this time to county investigators,” read the suit. “The chief told (Farabella) directly that he had no problem hiring an officer that is merely a ‘recreational drug user.’”
The suit further alleges that Codispoti in the meeting stated a member of his family is a drug dealer, adding, “He does his thing, I do mine and we get along just fine.”
Farabella stated he was again suspended in September 2007, for confirming information with a lieutenant that he thought was incorrectly supplied to him from a sergeant.
The suit states Farabella was disciplined for “jumping command,” although he contends that it was part of a campaign to punish him for investigating police corruption.
Later that month, according to the suit, he was removed from the narcotics unit, demoted and placed into the patrol division, then told by Beu and Codispoti that he was “stressed out.”
Farabella, from October 2008 to March 2009, took a leave of absence citing stress due to “systemic retaliation and harassment.”
Farabella seeks compensatory and punitive damages, whistleblower protection under New Jersey law and court and attorney fees.
Neither Codispoti nor Romano could not be reached for comment Thursday.
Lawsuits: Vineland police are corrupt
VINELAND — The city is named as a defendant in two recent federal civil lawsuits leveling accusations that its police force has an unofficial “policy, practice or custom of permitting the falsification of evidence and malicious prosecution” of innocent people.
The lawsuits, which are virtually identical in their accusations, also name as defendants Police Chief Timothy Codispoti and Detective Gamaliel “Gami” Cruz. The suits also allege a conspiracy by unnamed co-defendants.
The plaintiffs are Vineland residents Wilfredo Feliciano and Rafael Perez. Their suits seek compensatory and punitive damages, attorney fees and legal costs, but do not specify amounts.
Cherry Hill attorney Paul R. Melletz, who represents the two men, said Wednesday that perhaps as many as six more suits on behalf of other arrested individuals will be filed by the end of next week. “Unfortunately, they have to be filed separately in federal court,” he said.
Calls for comment to Mayor Robert Romano, Codispoti, Cruz and the detective’s attorney were not returned.
Cruz, a veteran narcotics unit member who was suspended pending termination in 2011, arrested both men and is at the heart of the litigation.
Authorities say the detective included false information about an informant on an affidavit for a search warrant in an August 2010 narcotics case. That case did not involve Feliciano or Perez.
However, as a result of the tainted affidavit, Cumberland County Prosecutor Jennifer Webb-McRae agreed “in the interest of justice” to dismiss at least 40 criminal cases in which Cruz was a principal investigator since March 2011. The office’s ability to prosecute numerous other cases involving Cruz is compromised because he can’t be called as a witness.
The cases against Feliciano and Perez were among the 40 that were dismissed.
The investigation into Cruz was limited to the one case in August 2010. The prosecutor said she opted not to file charges against the detective because it could endanger an informant. That left it to Vineland to discipline Cruz.
“I’m surprised that he is still on the force,” Melletz said.
Asked about the lack of prosecution, Melletz offered no comment. “I’ll leave that up to the county prosecutor’s people,” he said.
The situation with Cruz became public information last year because of motions filed on separate criminal cases handled by Vineland defense attorney Charles Coant and state Public Defender Caroline Turner. Both attorneys eventually succeeded, respectively, in getting a conviction reversed in one case and charges dropped in another case.
The federal lawsuit on behalf of Feliciano was filed in June. He was jailed for 30 days on a weapon possession charge — a weapon that was planted, his suit claims.
According to the lawsuit, Cruz arrested Feliciano on June 3, 2010, and charged him with having a sawed-off shotgun and having a defaced weapon.
On Feb. 28, 2011, Cumberland County Superior Court Judge Robert P. Becker Jr. administratively dismissed with prejudice all the charges against Feliciano because of the allegedly false affidavit Cruz submitted to the court in the unrelated narcotics case.
Feliciano’s suit further claims the charges were an attempt to force him “into giving information regarding other individuals whom defendant Cruz intended to charge.” Feliciano refused, the suit states.
“The supervisory defendants were aware of the risk to plaintiff and yet tolerated, enabled and condoned the officer’s illegal acts and/or were deliberately indifferent to evidence that these allegations were false,” the suit states.
Referring to police chief, the suit states: “With proper supervision and institutional control, the defendants would not have been able to plant weapons on plaintiff. At all relevant times, defendant Codispoti was responsible for the training of all police officers in Vineland on the proper and lawful use of force and in the execution of lawful arrests.”
The other federal lawsuit, on behalf of Perez, was filed this week.
“This case stems from one of the most serious forms of police misconduct: the false accusations on an innocent person in order to send him to prison, arrested, detained, falsified reports and then charged and prosecuted plaintiff maliciously and without probable cause,” the suit states.
Perez was charged Feb, 5, 2010, with multiple drug offenses. The suit claims cocaine, marijuana and drug paraphernalia were planted on him.
On March 8, 2011, Superior Court Judge Walter L. Marshall Jr. administratively dismissed the charges with prejudice. Again, the suit alleges Cruz was trying to force Perez into becoming an informant.
Melletz notified Vineland officials in June 2011 that they faced multiple lawsuits over the Cruz matter. A tort claim notice at that time listed pending actions on behalf of Perez as well as Willie Acosta, Richard Kates, Joel Rios and Yerondin A. Thomas.
Melletz also represents four falsely arrested people in an older police case out of Camden. Three Camden police have pleaded guilty and another was convicted in that case, which drew in the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Judges have reversed the convictions of 185 people, and about 90 federal and state lawsuits are pending.
Melletz said the Camden case has some similarities to the alleged Vineland Police Department situation, but also is significantly different. “They (Camden) had a system of going out and planting drugs on people, taking money ...,” he said. “And they did it for money. The Vineland situation doesn’t seem to be as widespread as it was in Camden.”
CORRUPTION IS LARGELY A LOCAL PROBLEM
Forsberg said corruption in the state is largely a local problem. All but a few of the 125 officials who faced federal corruption charges between 2001 and 2007 were local, she said. That leads some to believe that, with 566 municipalities, New Jersey has too much local government, according to Rutgers' Weingart, a former assistant commissioner of the state Department of Environmental Protection, and should consolidate. But he said no one seems to have the answer. "This is really depressing," he said. "I still consider public service to be an honorable profession. This is a bad day if you hold that view."
The undercover operation was essentially two investigations, one of money laundering, the other of political corruption. They were linked by the same "cooperating witness," a real estate developer whom authorities declined to identify. Since taking office as the state's top federal prosecutor in 2002, Christie hasn't lost a corruption case. But he said putting corrupt politicians behind bars is only part of the solution -- to make a measurable dent in the political culture, citizens must hold their elected officials accountable. "What we've been able to do over the past six and a half years is shine a really bright light on the problem," he said.
Making his task tougher is the shape of New Jersey government itself. Political experts say political power is scattered among the state's 21 counties, 566 municipalities and 616 school districts, giving corruption more pockets in which to hide.Jay Stewart, executive director of the Better Government Association, a Chicago-based public watchdog organization, said three states, New Jersey, Illinois, and Louisiana, stand out as the nation's corruption capitals.