Judge overturns police chief's appointment by 'lame-duck' Palisades Park mayor. Now what?

PALISADES PARK — The last actions of the borough's former mayor during his "lame-duck" period last December are invalid, a judge ruled this week, leaving the embattled Police Department without a chief.

The actions in question took place as Christopher Chung was serving his last days as mayor, having lost a primary bid for reelection after failing to receive the local Democratic Party's endorsement. His last actions as mayor included promoting Officer in Charge Capt. Anthony Espino to chief, after three previously failed attempts, and Sgt. John Gasparovich to captain, skipping the rank of lieutenant.

Espino's promotion came after the council approved a $40,000 settlement with him in his lawsuit against the borough.

After a new mayor and members of the Borough Council were sworn in early this year, they filed a lawsuit asking a judge to review the legality of the two promotions. The lawsuit hinged on the fact that the promotions were approved by only two affirmative council votes.

The judge's ruling on the promotions

State Superior Court Judge Christine Farrington ruled Tuesday that the promotions are indeed void.

The current council's lawsuit alleged that the actions taken during that Dec. 22, 2022, meeting were invalid because Councilwoman Cynthia Pirrera was present and was counted toward the meeting quorum. Pirrera had to recuse herself from the vote because she has a conflict of interest, as her son is a member of the police force. As a recused member of the council, Pirrera, the lawsuit said, should not have been counted as present for that meeting and vote.

The judge's ruling said that although there were enough council members to have a quorum for a meeting, state law and the borough's own ordinance state that an appointment must be made with three affirmative votes, with the mayor voting only if there is a tie, which wasn't the case.

The judge also addressed Espino's attorney, who said the lawsuit was filed 137 days after the appointment and not within the 45-day time frame. The judge said that due to the change in administration and another lawsuit that disputed the appointment of a council member, the first town meeting with a full council wasn't until the end of February, when a new borough attorney was appointed. The judge allowed the lawsuit to stand.

As of this week, Espino's salary is $190,000 and Gasparovich's is $177,479.

What will happen next to the Police Department?

Mayor Paul Kim said he plans to hold a special meeting early next week to address what will happen next with department leadership, salaries and Espino's settlement agreement.

“Palisades Park’s governing body authorized this litigation to right past wrongs and prevailed. I am pleased that Judge Farrington recognized the procedural infirmities in the former governing body’s attempted police actions on Dec. 22, 2022, mere days before current officials took office, and invalidated them in a well-reasoned opinion," Borough Attorney Michael Collins said. "The governing body will review and discuss this decision at its next meeting.”

Espino's attorney, Patrick Toscano of the Toscano Law Firm, said that despite the judge's ruling, his client will continue to be chief and run the borough's Police Department at this time.

"We believe the decision of the trial court to be legally flawed in countless respects, and will indeed be appealing same promptly," Toscano said. "We are now constrained to file an application to void the previous settlement agreement voluntarily entered into over half a year ago, wherein Palisades Park itself agreed to promote him to the well-deserved rank of chief of police, together with a monetary payment to him."

Toscano said that if the motion is granted, Espino will be "added back in" as a plaintiff in the current ongoing litigation with other officers in the department.

Toscano will also be filing a separate breach of contract lawsuit against the borough as a result of the reneging on the three-year agreement executed seven months ago.

"All of this complex litigation going forward will surely come at exceedingly great monetary expense to the taxpayers of Palisades Park, so any reasonable person may question the wisdom of this prerogative writ filing in the first instance," Toscano said.

Messages left for Gasparovich's attorney and the borough attorney were not immediately returned.

How did Palisades Park get here?

Last year saw a lawsuit settlement, three new lawsuits and one tort notice filed internally by officers against the Police Department. A prisoner escape led to a Bergen County Prosecutor's Office investigation. Though no criminal charges were filed, the former officer in charge, Capt. Shawn Lee, retired as part of a settlement agreement, and Lt. Alessandro Monteleone resigned.

The department has been led by an officer in charge since Chief Mark Jackson retired in 2019. During the past decade, the force has had four chiefs and gone through a tumultuous time marked by suspensions, lawsuits and infighting. Some of the department's troubles date to the 1990s, when officers were found to be running a burglary ring and drew unwanted national attention.

This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: Palisades Park NJ police chief appointment overturned by judge