HOBOKEN – The former public safety director for the city of Hoboken has filed a civil suit against the city and Mayor Dawn Zimmer, alleging both race discrimination and retaliation for whistle-blowing, according to a complaint provided to the Reporter by a North Bergen law firm.
The complaint was filed in Hudson County Superior Court on Thursday, according to an employee from the law offices of Louis Zayas in North Bergen.
Zayas is the same attorney who handled the infamous case of five police officers and SWAT team members who sued the Police Department for alleged racial discrimination.
Former Public Safety Director Alicea alleges in his 11-page complaint that the Hoboken Police Department has refused to conduct random drug testing of officers.
Alicea, who is a member of the Federal Task Force on Steroids, ordered a high ranking officer to conduct tests as soon as possible, according to the complaint. According to the complaint, the police official claimed his staff was not trained in the software used for random drug tests.
The complaint states that from December 2010 to January 2011, Alicea complained to city officials about the lack of drug tests.
Alicea then conducted his own investigation by obtaining records from Hoboken’s insurance company, according to the complaint, and found that four police officers had been given prescriptions for human growth hormone (HGH), which is commonly used to balance the effects of steroids, according to the complaint. The HGH prescriptions cost the city $66,000, the complaint states.
The complaint alleges that Zimmer told Alicea in April to either resign or be terminated. Alicea did, in fact, resign.
However, around that time, the news had broken that Alicea, in his capacity as a City Council candidate in Hoboken, had been among candidates who had met with an undercover FBI informant who was offering bribes to candidates as part of an FBI sting operation. On April 8, Zimmer announced that Alicea had resigned because he had not disclosed to her that he had met with informant Solomon Dwek in 2009. Dwek was the key informant in a 2009 sting “Operation Bid Rig”, which brought down former Hoboken Mayor Peter Cammarano.
Alicea’s suit also alleges racial discrimination, noting that the current public safety director, a white male, makes $110,000, while Alicea, a Hispanic male, earned only $27,500.
The mayor’s office was unaware of the lawsuit when reached for comment on Friday.
“If and when we are served with this complaint, our [Legal Department] will review it and take appropriate action,” Zimmer said.
A message has been left for Alicea seeking comment. — Ray Smith