Belleville Settles Whistleblower Lawsuit For $250K: Reports

BELLEVILLE, NJ — A long-running lawsuit between Belleville and a local zoning official was recently settled for $250,000, reports say.

Frank DeLorenzo, a construction official in Belleville, claimed that Mayor Michael Melham began “retaliating” against him after he denied a permit for a building that allegedly wasn’t up to code in 2018.

In 2021, Melham filed a complaint against DeLorenzo with the New Jersey Office of the Attorney General, alleging that the zoning official improperly withdrew money from the municipal developers escrow account. Melham introduced a resolution to suspend DeLorenzo in the wake of the accusations, but it didn’t pass a vote from the town council.

DeLorenzo denied the allegations, claiming that Melham spurred an unnecessary investigation and created a hostile work environment. His lawsuit – filed in 2022 – also claimed that Melham created a committee to oversee the construction/zoning departments as part of the alleged retaliation.

• See Related: Belleville Mayor Demands Probe Into Payments To Code Official
• See Related: Belleville Zoning Official Sues Mayor Over Long-Running Dispute

A settlement was reached in October 2025, with neither side admitting wrongdoing. The lawsuit was dismissed in December 2025.

Belleville’s town attorney told NorthJersey.com that the municipality will cover about $100,000 of the settlement, and the rest will be covered by the township’s insurance fund.

“This settlement was strictly an economic decision,” Melham told NJ Advance Media.

DeLorenzo was also involved in a legal dispute with the township in 2011, when he received a $73,500 settlement after he claimed that the township manager at the time refused to fully credit him with more than 400 days of unused sick and vacation time accrued during his career. Read More: Belleville Settles with Employee for $73K

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