Mayor Sayegh joins lawsuit seeking to end NJ AG's control of Paterson Police Department

Joe Malinconico
·2 min read
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PATERSON — Mayor Andre Sayegh has filed court papers to join his ousted police chief in a lawsuit seeking to end the New Jersey Attorney General’s takeover of the Paterson Police Department.

The courts had scheduled a Zoom hearing in the case for Thursday afternoon, but participants said so many people tried to watch the session remotely that the system crashed, forcing the matter to be postponed until Friday.

Thursday’s hearing was going to feature oral arguments by lawyers on both sides on whether the judge should grant ousted police chief Engelbert Ribeiro’s request for an injunction that would put him back in charge of the Paterson department while the litigation proceeds.

'Unprecedented'

Paterson Mayor Andre Sayegh gives his 2023 Paterson State of the City Address at the historic Hinchliffe Stadium on Thursday Sept. 28, 2023.
Paterson Mayor Andre Sayegh gives his 2023 Paterson State of the City Address at the historic Hinchliffe Stadium on Thursday Sept. 28, 2023.

Lawyers for the attorney general's office called Ribeiro’s “unprecedented,” noting he was asking the courts to approve an emergency reversal of a decision made seven months ago.

Ribeiro filed the lawsuit late last Friday, along with Mark Bulur, identified in the court papers as acting public safety director. Bulur has been on the city payroll since 2017 as confidential assistant to the public safety director, Jerry Speziale. Sayegh said he appointed Bulur as acting director last year to fill in for Speziale whenever he is away.

Trying to take control from AG: Ousted police chief’s lawsuit seeks to end state control of Paterson force

Sayegh joins case

Lawyer Edward Florio late Wednesday filed notice in the case that he was representing Sayegh as a “proposed intervenor” in the case. In legal terms, an intervenor is someone who may join a lawsuit for one side or the other after the original case is filed.

Sayegh has made it clear he supports Ribeiro in the lawsuit. Florio’s law firm has done legal work for the city in various cases. Sayegh told Paterson Press on Thursday afternoon that the city is not paying Florio for this lawsuit. The mayor did not immediately reveal who was paying Florio’s fees.

Lawyers for the attorney general's office filed a legal motion this week seeking to have the lawsuit moved to state appellate court, which they argued has “exclusive jurisdiction” over legal challenges to decisions by state agencies or officers.

Joe Malinconico is editor of Paterson Press. Email: editor@patersonpress.com

This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: Paterson mayor joins lawsuit to end NJ control of police