A New Jersey judge has allowed Clark Township to proceed with firing two police officers for a scandal that roiled the suburban community, per NJ.com.
Clark Police Chief Pedro Matos and Sgt. Joseph Teston continued to collect six figure salaries after being suspended for their caught-on-tape racist rants in 2020. For over five years, Matos, Teston and third officer, Captain Vincent Concina, have cost taxpayers hundreds of thousands of dollars with salaries and yearly raises ever since July 2020.
The township so far has forked over $2.6 million in salary and counting, according to NJ.com. According to Clark payroll records, Matos has been paid out $979,298, Concina has been paid out $178,979, and Teston received $147,556. Each of their pay has grown by more than 14 percent following their suspension in 2020.
On Dec 18, Superior Court Judge Lisa Miralles Walsh reinstated their lawsuit which was previously tossed, clearing the way for hearings to proceed.
Attorneys for the cops argued in Superior Court in early December that authorities’ probe into their behavior dragged on so long, they shouldn’t face any discipline. Per state law, internal affairs charges must be filed within 45 days of gathering “sufficient information” to support them.
The officers’ lawsuit claimed the inquiries against them were effectively over by April 2022, more than 1 1/2 years before the Attorney General’s office issued its report.
However at a Dec. 3 hearing, lawyers for the attorney general said neither the length nor the effectiveness of the investigation matters for disciplinary proceedings to move forward.
Whistleblower
Former Lt. Antonio Manata is the man behind the release of the racist recordings. He came forward in 2020 with secret recordings alleging they used racial slurs such as “shines,” “spooks,” and the N-word.
In January 2020, Clark officials made a $400,000 deal with Manata to hand over the recordings to the township. Manata was allowed to stay on the payroll without working until February 2022 when he retired.
Allegations were also brought against the town’s mayor, Sal Bonaccorso, for which he later acknowledged and apologized.
“I’m here to say I’ve made mistakes, and I’d like to apologize for the pain I caused to the residents of Clark, my family, my friends, and all those that were offended by my comments,” said Bonaccorso.
Per NJ.com, Bonaccorso is serving three years of probation after pleading guilty in January to conspiracy to commit official misconduct and forgery. He was forced to resign days after being sworn into a seventh term and is barred from holding public office again.
Concina was suspended for his role in retaliating against Manata.