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LOUIS A. ZAYAS, ESQ. LAW OFFICES OF LOUIS A. ZAYAS, L.L.C. 8901 Kennedy Boulevard, Suite 5S North Bergen, N.J.

07047 (201) 977-2900 Counsel for Plaintiff ANGEL ALICEA Plaintiff, vs. CITY OF HOBOKEN, Mayor of Hoboken, DAWN ZIMMER Defendants. ) SUPERIOR COURT OF NEW JERSEY ) LAW DIVISION: HUDSON COUNTY ) ) Docket No.:_______________ ) ) CIVIL ACTION ) ) COMPLAINT ) )

The Plaintiff ANGEL ALICEA, by and through his attorney, LOUIS A. ZAYAS of LAW OFFICES OF LOUIS A. ZAYAS, L.L.C, alleges the following based on information and belief: INTRODUCTION This is a civil action brought by Plaintiff Angel Alicea, the former Director of Public Safety for the City of Hoboken, for damages under the New Jersey Conscientious Employee Protection Act, N.J.S.A. 34:6A-25 et seq., New Jersey Law Against Discrimination, N.J.S.A. 10:5-1 et seq., and New Jersey Civil Rights Act, Section 10:6-2. et seq., against his former employer, the City of Hoboken and Mayor Dawn Zimmer. PARTIES 1. Plaintiff Angel Alicea is a resident of the State of New Jersey, residing in the City of Hoboken. 2. Defendant City of Hoboken is a municipality organized by virtue of New Jersey law and pursuant to that law. Defendant Hoboken is sued to affect the full declaratory relief and compensatory damages demanded by Plaintiff.

3. Defendant Mayor Dawn Zimmer is the duly elected Mayor of Hoboken. Mayor Zimmer is sued in her official and individual capacity to affect the full declaratory, compensatory and punitive damages demanded by Plaintiff. FACTS 4. The City of Hoboken has a sad and sordid history of encouraging and

tolerating unlawful discrimination and harassment of minorities, particularly Hispanics, in the workplace. Making matters worse for minorities employees is Hobokens culture of retaliating against those victims and individuals who complain or oppose such unlawful employment practices. 5. On July 22, 2009, Director Alicea was appointed the first Hispanic Public Safety Director prior to Mayor Zimmer being elected mayor. Prior to his appointment, Director Alicea served as a Police Sergeant and Lieutenant for over twenty-six years, concluding his law enforcement career in the Internal Affairs Bureau, an assignment reserved for police officers with integrity and a high level of competence. Because of his extensive years in law enforcement, Director Alicea is knowledgeable with rules and regulations enacted by the Attorney General Guidelines concerning official misconduct and internal affairs investigations and procedures. 6. The Director of Public Safety of Hoboken is the Administrative Council Liaison to the Police Department. The Hoboken City Code states that the Director of Public Safety shall be head of the Department and, in addition to the functions, powers and duties that are hereby or may hereafter be conferred and imposed upon him/her by law and the ordinances of the city, shall: Exercise supervision and have general responsibility for all the operations of said Police/Fire Departments and of the personnel

employed therein. In addition, the Director is to Supervise the organization of the Department and changes in the organization thereof. 7. In his capacity as Director of Public Safety, Alicea performed his duties

and responsibilities as Director of Public Safety in a satisfactory manner. As a Hoboken resident as well as government official, Director Alicea often went above and beyond what was required of him to serve and protect the people of Hoboken. 8. On August 1, 2009, Mayor Dawn Zimmer, who is white, took office.

Upon taking office, Mayor Zimmer began to make appointments to various departments, all of whom were white and non-Hispanics. 9. On December 2, 2009, at a Hoboken Public Safety Sub-Committee

meeting, Councilmen Michael Lenz and Ravi Bhalla informed Director Alicea that they had heard that the Hoboken Police Department had failed to conduct random drug testing as required by law. As a member of the Federal Task Force on Steroids, Director Alicea agreed to investigate and report back. On that same day, Director Alicea wrote to Police Chief Anthony Falco, who is white, requesting information on the police departments random drug testing. 10. Chief Falco responded in person that random drug tests had not been

conducted in over a year. Chief Falco alleged that the random drug testing had been suspended by former Public Safety Director Bill Bergen because of the cost ($30 per officer tested). 11. On December 3, 2009, Plaintiff, as Director of Public Safety, lifted the ban on random drug testing, and ordered Chief Falco to conduct such tests as soon as possible. Falco responded that he would begin this process in January of 2010. He never

mentioned that the investigators were not trained in conducting drug testing or that the software was not operational. 12. On August 19, 2010, Director Alicea was informed by a Hoboken police officer that the police department had not performed any random drug testing that year despite Director Aliceas order to do so. 13. The same Hoboken police officer told Director Alicea that drug testing had not been done in years because some of Police Chief Falcos favorite patrolmen and supervisors, including his son, used illegal drugs. 14. On December 21, 2010, Director Alicea wrote to Chief Falco stating that he was waiting for a response regarding the delay in administering the random drug testing ordered in December 2009. In response, Chief Falco responded that the staff was not trained in the software used for random drug tests (despite the fact that the software was substantially the same as it had been for years). It was apparent that Chief Falco was refusing to implement Director Aliceas order to conduct random drug testing. 15. From December 2010 to the end of January 2011, Director Alicea complained numerous times about Chief Falcos failure to enact random drug testing to Hobokens business administrator and others. Under Mayor Zimmers administration, the town administrator reports directly to her. In his various complaints to Hoboken, Director Alicea complained that whenever he demanded an explanation for the lack of progress in implementing the random drug testing, Chief Falco would provide unresponsive, misleading, and sometimes false responses, such as the need for more software (which was not necessary) and the lack of trained personal to conduct the testing (which was false).

16. Director Alicea became increasingly concerned about the use of steroid and other drug use in the police department. When Hoboken failed to take remedial action, Director Alicea conducted his own investigation by obtaining records from Hobokens insurance company. Director Alicea determined, based on one year alone, that four Hoboken police officers had been given prescriptions for human growth hormone (HGH). HGH is commonly used to balance the effects of steroids. Moreover, the HGH prescriptions cost Hoboken approximately $66,000. Director Alicea determined that not only were Hoboken police officers using steroids illegally and thus unfit for duty, but they were defrauding Hoboken by paying for the steroids through insurance. 17. During her administration, Mayor Zimmer began retaliate against Director Alicea as a means to silence and punish him because of his constant complaints of illegal drug use and improprieties relating to the police department, in general, and Chief Falco, in particular. For example, Mayor Zimmer began to strip Director Alicea of his core responsibilities as a director of the police department, keeping him out of meetings, taking away his government car, and refusing to meet with him. 18. In August 2010, Director Alicea was to be confirmed as the Director of Public Safety at a regular city counsel meeting. Although Director Alicea was put on the agenda he was later removed. Instead, an ordinance was adopted designating Mayor Zimmer, instead of Director of Public Safety, as the citys authority for the police department. By designating the mayor as responsible for the supervision of the police

department, Mayor Zimmer effectively prevented Director Alicea from continuing to oversee the implementation of the random drug testing. 19. Later in November 2010, Plaintiff complained to Business Director Art Liston

that nothing he requested was getting done, such as drug testing, disciplinary actions, and a redeployment plan. Director Alicea complained that he was being undermined as director, and his authority to get things done was being taken away. 20. In December 2010, Mayor Zimmer released a Police Audit produced by the State of New Jersey, which evaluated the Police Departments manpower designated to patrolling the streets and thereby enhancing police presence on the street. Upon reviewing the information provided to the public, Director Alicea recognized that it was based on misleading, if not blatant, misrepresentations. In his capacity as Director and a resident of Hoboken, Director Alicea complained to the media that the information provided by Mayor Zimmer was wrong. 21. Mayor Zimmer told Plaintiff that he was to never speak to the media again. Zimmer then directed Plaintiff to write a response to the above Police Audit in two days, an unreasonable deadline, as the Audit was over 100 pages long. 22. On April 11, 2011 Mayor Zimmer advised Director Alicea that she was going to terminate him unless he resigned. Under threat of termination and in an effort to avoid public humiliation of himself and family, Director Alicea resigned. Mayor Zimmer's threat directly infringed on Director Alicea's constitutional right to be free from such threats and intimidations. 23. In keeping with her earlier practice of appointing whites to major posts in her administration, Mayor Zimmer appointed a white male as Director only four months after Alicea was forced out of his position. Mayor Zimmer also elevated the salary to $110,000. Director Aliceas salary was a quarter of that given to the white male who replaced him. Alicea earned only $27,000 with benefits.

I. COUNT ONE New Jersey Conscientious Employee Protection Act N.J.S.A. 34:19-3 24. Plaintiff repeats and realleges the allegations set forth above as if fully set forth herein. 25. Plaintiff, on many occasions, brought wrongdoing in the police department to the attention of the administration and the public. 26. Plaintiff tried to get the police department to institute random drug testing because he was concerned about possible drug use. When the department failed to institute the tests, Plaintiff complained. 27. Plaintiff investigated steroid use in the department, and released his findings. In addition, Plaintiff was appointed to, and served on, the New Jersey State Steroid Task Force. 28. When Mayor Zimmer published the Police Audit, Plaintiff spoke out about the parts he disagreed with. 29. When the police department mishandled a domestic violence case, Plaintiff again spoke out about it. 30. When Hoboken misrepresented the amount of police manpower on the streets, Plaintiff complained. 31. Defendants retaliated against Plaintiff for whistle blowing by interfering with his position as Director of Public Safety, removing his responsibilities, and ultimately forcing him to resign, as alleged above. 32. Defendants actions were taken in violation of the New Jersey Conscientious

Employee Protection Act, N.J.S.A. 34:19-3 et seq. and have caused Plaintiff to suffer economic, emotional and psychological damages in an amount to be determined by a jury. WHEREFORE, the Plaintiff demands judgment against the Defendants, jointly and severally, for the following relief: a. Compensatory Damages; b. Punitive Damages, including treble damages; c. Attorneys fee and costs of suit; d. Such other and further relief that the Court deems equitable and just.

II. COUNT TWO New Jersey Law Against Discrimination N.J.S.A. 10:5-1 31. Plaintiff repeats and realleges the allegations set forth above as if fully set forth herein. 32. As a Puerto Rican, Plaintiff was discriminated against based on his national origin, ethnicity, and race. 33. Defendants discriminated against the Plaintiff in the terms and conditions of his Employment, taking away his supervisory duties and responsibility, depriving him of his vehicle, denying his confirmation as director during a public forum, and ultimately forcing him to leave his employment. 34. When Mayor Zimmer took office, there were several minorities in the administration. The administration reflected the diverse makeup of the City of Hoboken. Since taking office, Mayor Zimmer has systematically replaced minorities, forcing them

out of lead roles in her administration. 35. Plaintiff was the only Hispanic head of a department in Mayor Zimmers administration before he was forced out. 36. Defendants actions were taken in violation of New Jersey Law Against Discrimination, N.J.S.A. 0:5-1 et seq. and have caused Plaintiff to suffer economic, emotional and psychological damages in an amount to be determined by a jury. WHEREFORE, the Plaintiff demands judgment against the Defendant City of Hoboken for the following relief: a. Compensatory Damages; b. Punitive Damages, including treble damages; c. Attorneys fee and costs of suit; d. Such other and further relief that the Court deems equitable and just. III. COUNT THREE N.J. CIVIL RIGHTS ACT 10:6-2 MAYOR ZIMMER 37. Plaintiff repeats and realleges the allegations set forth above as if fully set forth herein. 38. Plaintiff is a Hispanic who performed his duties and responsibilities in a satisfactory manner. 39. Plaintiff was nonetheless forced to resigned under threat of termination by Mayor Zimmer because of his Hispanic/Puerto Rican heritage. 41. Defendant Mayor Zimmers action violated Director Aliceas

constitutional right to equal protection under the law based on his ethnicity, race and Hispanic heritage, arising under New Jerseys Constitution. Defendants conduct has

caused Plaintiff to suffer economic, emotional and psychological damages in an amount to be determined by a jury. WHEREFORE, the Plaintiff demands judgment against the Mayor Zimmer for the following relief: a. Compensatory Damages; b. Punitive Damages, including treble damages; c. Attorneys fee and costs of suit; d. Such other and further relief that the Court deems equitable and just. DEMAND FOR JURY TRIAL Plaintiff hereby demands a trial jury as to all issues. _____________________ LOUIS A. ZAYAS, ESQ.

DATED:

DESIGNATION OF TRIAL COUNSEL LOUIS A. ZAYAS, ESQ., is designated as trial counsel in this matter. _____________________ LOUIS A. ZAYAS, ESQ.

DATED:

DEMAND FOR PRODUCTION OF INSURANCE AGREEMENTS Pursuant to R. 4:10-2(b), demand is hereby made that you disclose to the undersigned whether there are any insurance agreements or policies under which any person or firm carrying on an insurance business may be liable to satisfy all or part of a

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judgment which may be entered in the action or to indemnify or reimburse for payment made to satisfy the judgment. If so, please attach a copy of each, or alternative state, under oath and certification: (a) policy number; (b) name and address of insurer; (c) inception and expiration date; (d) names and addresses of all persons insured thereunder; (e) personal injury limits; (f) property damages limits; and (g) medical payment limits. _____________________ LOUIS A. ZAYAS, ESQ. CERTIFICATION PURSUANT TO R. 4:5-1 I certify that the matters in controversy in this action are not subject of any other action pending in any other court or of a pending arbitration proceeding, and that no other action or arbitration proceeding is contemplated. _____________________ LOUIS A. ZAYAS, ESQ.

DATED:

DATED:

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