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Councilman-elect
sues
town,
county
officials
Article
from: 
The
The
Record 
(Bergen 
County, 
NJ)

NJ)

 Article
date: 
December
December 
18,
2008
2008

 Author: 
MAYA
MAYA 
KREMEN, 
STAFF
WRITER

The
Record
(Bergen
County,
NJ)

12-18-2008

Councilman-elect
sues
town,
county
officials
--
Republican
newcomer
alleges
political
retaliation
By
MAYA
KREMEN,
STAFF
WRITER
Date:
12-18-2008,
Thursday
Section:
LOCAL
Edtion:
All
Editions

ENGLEWOOD
CLIFFS
A
Republican
councilman-elect
is
suing
the
mayor,
deputy
police
chief,
a
detective
with
the
Bergen
County
Prosecutor's
Office,
and
a
private
investigator,
claiming
that
they
"acted
to
disrupt
and
prevent"
him
from
being
elected
in
November.

The
lawsuit,
which
was
filed
last
week
in
U.S.
District
Court
in
Newark
by
Councilman-
elect
Robert
Agresta,
also
states
that
the
Fire
Department
chief
and
the
deputy
police
chief
"conspired
to
wrongfully
discharge"
him
from
the
volunteer
Fire
Department.

Prosecutor
John
L.
Molinelli
called
the
allegations
against
his
office
"frivolous."

Deputy
Police
Chief
Michael
Cioffi
and
Fire
Chief
George
Drimones
did
not
return
calls.
Neither
Mayor
Joseph
Parisi
nor
the
private
investigator,
William
Krum,
would
comment
on
allegations
in
the
lawsuit.

Agresta
and
his
running
mate,
Eric
J.
Petrone,
were
elected
as
the
lone
Republicans
on
an
all-Democratic
council
in
November.

The
lawsuit
alleges
that
before
the
election
Parisi,
a
Democrat,
sent
the
superintendent
of
elections
a
report
including
Agresta's
Social
Security
number,
and
asked
for
an
investigation
into
whether
Agresta
actually
lived
in
Englewood
Cliffs.
In
doing
so,
the
mayor
"utilized
illegal
and
prohibited
procedures
in
order
to
develop
information
concerning
Plaintiff,
for
purely
partisan
political
purposes,"
the
lawsuit
alleges.

Prosecutor's
Detective
Gary
Robinson
followed
up
on
the
residency
question
with
the
Board
of
Elections
and
made
a
call
to
Agresta
about
the
issue,
the
lawsuit
alleges.

Board
of
Elections
Superintendent
Patricia
A.
DiCostanzo
confirmed
that
the
Prosecutor's
Office
asked
for
a
copy
of
the
investigation
after
her
office
ruled
that
Agresta
did
live
in
Englewood
Cliffs.

In
doing
so,
Robinson
"illegally
investigated
Plaintiff
even
after
the
Superintendent
of
Elections
had
determined
that
Plaintiff
was
a
resident
of
Englewood
Cliffs,"
the
lawsuit
alleges.

When
questioned
about
the
investigation
on
Nov.
7,
Molinelli
said
that
his
office
did
request
a
copy
of
the
Board
of
Elections
investigation
after
getting
a
question
about
Agresta's
residency.
He
said
his
office
often
gets
such
questions
around
election
time.

"This
was
not
an
investigation,"
he
said
at
the
time.
"We
follow
the
same
procedures,
called
the
superintendent,
ascertained
that
this
was
not
an
issue
and
closed
the
file."

The
lawsuit
also
alleges
that
Cioffi,
the
brother
of
Agresta's
political
opponent,
Democrat
Patricia
Drimones,
engaged
in
"intimidation"
against
three
Agresta
campaign
workers.

On
the
eve
of
the
election,
Cioffi
"ordered
them
out
of
their
vehicle
with
their
hands
up,"
the
complaint
alleges.
Cioffi
then
put
his
"hand
on
his
service
weapon,
menacing
and

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the
complaint
alleges.
Cioffi
then
put
his
"hand
on
his
service
weapon,
menacing
and
threatening
the
young
campaign
workers
and
demanded
that
they
stop
placing
political
information
(door
hangers)
on
residences,"
the
lawsuit
alleges.

According
to
the
complaint,
Cioffi
claimed
that
"there
was
a
report
of
a
robbery
in
the
area
and
that
one
of
them
fit
the
description
of
one
of
the
robbers."

Agresta
was
suspended
from
the
Fire
Department
in
October,
and
kicked
off
after
the
election.
George
Drimones
said
at
the
time
that
the
department
suspended
Agresta
due
to
a
low
call-response
rate.
Agresta
had
a
3
percent
response
rate
to
alarms,
he
said.

But
Agresta
says
the
ousting
was
politically
motivated.
The
chief
is
married
to
Patricia
Drimones
and
Agresta
had
asked
the
Attorney
General's
Office
to
investigate
Fire
Department
finances,
Agresta
said.
One
other
Fire
Department
employee
with
a
comparable
call
rate
was
not
suspended,
according
to
department
records.

"I
feel
as
though
I
was
terminated
for
the
purpose
of
political
gain,"
Agresta
said.
"It
was
a
retaliation
for
my
success
in
the
election."

Agresta
is
asking
for
punitive
and
compensatory
damages,
attorney's
fees
and
his
reinstatement
to
the
Fire
Department.

***

E-mail:
kremenm@northjersey.com

Keywords:
ENGLEWOOD
CLIFFS,
POLITICS,
LAWSUIT

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2008
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