Joey Hartwig, an employee of the Secaucus Department of Public Works, has accused Mayor Dennis Elwell of intimidation, saying that on two occasions Elwell – once as a councilman and once as mayor – sought to prevent Hartwig from testifying as a witness in another employee’s ongoing dispute with the town. Mayor Elwell has denied threatening Hartwig, but he did admit having several conversations with Hartwig after Hartwig called the mayor for advice. “On numerous occasions, as a councilman, town employees have come to me and asked me advice,” Elwell said last week. “Many times I gave advice to Joseph Hartwig.” Last fall, Hartwig was supposed to testify as a witness in several hearings due to unfair labor practice charges brought against the town by town worker David McAdam. According to Hartwig, in Sept. 1999, then-Councilman Elwell met with him at the DPW garage on Secaucus Road. Hartwig said he believes Elwell and others sought to keep his from being a witness on McAdam’s behalf. “I was asked by my co-worker, David McAdam, to appear as a witness on his behalf at an arbitration hearing held on Sept. 29, 1999 arranged through PERC (Public Employment Relations Commission) regarding overtime wages,” Hartwig said . About 2 p.m. Sept. 29, Elwell allegedly approached Hartwig and warned him about not getting mixed up in the situation. “Dennis said I could be fired for the accidents I had on the job,” Hartwig said. “He told me not to get involved, to keep my mouth closed and stay away from the hearing that night at the Town Hall.” (Harwig has had accidents while driving in town vehicles.) Later that afternoon, Elwell allegedly asked Hartwig to come to his home on Farm Road to discuss the matter. Then, he allegedly again told Hartwig not to get involved with the situation. Hartwig said Elwell – as mayor – approached him again on June 21, 2000, after McAdam filed new harassment charges with PERC against the town. Hartwig said he was standing out front of his house Paterson Plank Road with his 9-month-old son when Elwell approached. “He [Dennis Elwell] started the conversation by saying that he wanted to have a talk with me,” Hartwig said. “Dennis then told me to stay out of the situation and for me not to talk to anyone. I asked if he meant Dave McAdam? Dennis said yes.” Hartwig said Elwell warned him about losing his jobs on account of numerous accidents Hartwig had had while driving town vehicles. “In the middle of the conversation I said I wanted to go upstairs to my apartment because my 9-month old son was very tired,” Hartwig said. “Mayor Elwell became very angry, red in the face.” Hartwig said he believed he was being pressured by the mayor and other people at the DPW for sticking up for McAdam. “My family is very upset about this,” Hartwig said. David McAdam, who has had an ongoing dispute with the town, claimed the warnings were intended to intimate Hartwig into silence. This could constitute a felony. Both McAdam and Hartwig said they are pursuing legal options, but could not yet say what they were. More than enough opportunity to complain? Town officials claimed last week that Hartwig is a good, but gullible, person who might have been drawn unwittingly into a conflict that could put his job at risk. “Joey has had more than nine accidents with town vehicles as an employee,” one DPW worker said. “The town insurance allows only for about three. The town has reassigned Joey to jobs that don’t require him to drive.” However, if Hartwig had testified publicly, his driving record could have come out, and the insurance company might have demanded that he be removed as a town employee, officials said. In addition, Marty Pachman, the town’s labor attorney, said McAdam had the opportunity to make an issue of the allegation against Elwell during the hearing last Sept. 29, as well as up to 90 days after the hearing. “The point is, if McAdam had an allegation that a witness he wanted to call was unavailable for any reason or coerced, he could have told his attorney,” Pachman said. “The hearing would not have taken place and subpoenas would have been issued. If the union lawyer had been made aware of witness tampering, he would have been obligated to do something about it.” Pachman said McAdam made no such charge at the time, but after losing the arbitration, he then proceeded to file harassment charges through PERC against DPW Superintendent Michael Gonnelli, and most recently has filed an unfair labor practice charge with PERC. McAdam claims that since his initial complaint, the town has stripped him of jobs and benefits and assigned him to jobs well below his skill level – all in retaliation for his original complaint. “He has cost the town thousands of dollars in legal fees,” Pachman. “This is a never ending pattern of conduct does not make sense.” Pachman said Elwell, in fact, during the initial arbitration hearing, had been one of the council members voting against dismissing the case. No one wants to hurt Joey Although the town’s labor attorney has told Elwell and other public officials not to comment on a personnel matter, several town officials and workers claimed Elwell has actually stood up for Hartwig in the past, and that Hartwig is now caught in the legal cross-fire between McAdam and Town Hall. “[Town Administrator] Anthony Iacono actually fired Joey last year,” one official said. “Dennis [Elwell] and Mike [Gonnelli] stepped in and stopped it. Joey is a hard worker. He has a family. Nobody wants him to lose his job.” Iacono, the town administrator, would not confirm this statement, but did say that “any town employee with several accidents is certainly in the position to have his job in jeopardy, whether that person is in the public works, police department or medical escort.” Iacono also said Elwell and Gonnelli had spoken up for Hartwig as an employee in the past Several DPW workers claim McAdam pushed to have Hartwig testify, and that Elwell, Gonnelli and others cautioned Hartwig not to risk his own job – especially when the insurance company could force the town to release Hartwig on account of the accident record. (Even if Hartwig was reassigned, the potential for him to get behind the wheel while on the job would still be there.) “Joey has 15 years on the job, “one worker said. “All he needs is five more years to collect his pension. Why should he risk that to become a witness?” But McAdam said he wasn’t sure why there is talk now of Hartwig putting his job at risk. “Why didn’t they fire him nine months ago?” he said. “Why did they wait until I needed him as a witness?” For his own part, McAdam has denied pressuring Hartwig to be a witness. “Joey wanted to do this,” McAdam said. “It is the Mayor and Mike Gonnelli who don’t want him to speak up.” Gonnelli, however, said no one has done anything wrong. “We have bent over backwards to help Joey – and Dave for that matter,” Gonnelli said. “The mayor has just tried to make sure that Joey isn’t being used.” Gonnelli said McAdam has filed against the town several frivolous grievances as well as harassment charges that have cost the thousands of dollars to defend. Gonnelli also noted that McAdam’s wife, Dawn, is running for a 1st Ward council seat. “It amazes me that McAdam did not make a complaint about witness-tampering for over a year until after his wife started running for council,” said Pachman, the town’s labor attorney.
Intimidation or friendly warning? Town worker claims mayor advised him not to be a witness in labor dispute
