NORTH BERGEN – At their commissioners meeting on Wednesday, the Township of North Bergen voted to pay a $1,500 bill for an attorney for a police officer who allegedly drove a school vice prinicpal away from an accident before an investigation could be conducted.
In the same resolution, the commissioners officially approved the attorney, who had been selected by the officer.
The resolution says, “Whereas, the local public contracts law permits the award of a professional service contract without competitive bidding, whereas, said services have been satisfactorily performed and a voucher in the amount of $1,500 submitted…be it resolved … that Vincent J. LaPaglia be and hereby is approved as counsel.” The fee is $150 per hour.
Officer Mena made headlines in June when Hudson County Prosecutor Ed DeFazio recommended that some sort of internal administrative action be taken against him because Mena allegedly drove school Vice Principal Edward Somick away from the scene of an accident last year before an investigation could be completed.
Media reports have said that Somick is a close friend of the family of Mayor Nicholas Sacco, who is also an assistant superintendent in the school district.
DeFazio said last month that Mena’s actions did not rise to the level of a crime, but he recommended that the police deal with the manner by taking some kind of administrative action within their department.
The crash occurred around 1:45 a.m. on Dec. 18, when Somick’s Jeep apparently hit a parked pickup truck, which then hit another parked car. The crash occurred at Kennedy Blvd. near 70th Street.
DeFazio did not elaborate last month on why he recommended administrative action, saying it was an internal affairs matter.
He confirmed that Somick explained that he had swerved to avoid an animal, and that he was not given a sobriety test. No charges were filed against Somick.
When asked why Somick wasn’t given a test, DeFazio said that a review was conducted and that this was among the issues studied during the review. “All of that was part of the review and subsequent investigation,” he said.
DeFazio said, “[The officer] was working, he was on duty, and he is assigned to traffic detail. He responded to the accident.”