After 'Sideshow,' Piazza Appointed Councilman

In a meeting that lasted four-and-a-half hours and began with what one councilman called a "sideshow," Caldwell's council appointed a Republican candidate Tuesday night to replace Gordon Lawshe on the governing body until the winner of November's special election is certified to fill the remainder of the unexpired term.

Doug Piazza, who runs the Caldwell Farmers' Market, was nominated for the seat by Council President Ann Dassing over Kathleen Martin and Leonard Cohen, the other two candidates submitted by the Caldwell Republican County Committee.

Dassing and councilmen Peter Murray and Joseph Norton approved Piazza's appointment, while Democrat Councilman Kay Slattery abstained from voting and Councilman Richard Hauser was away on vacation.

According to Municipal Attorney Greg Mascera, Piazza can be sworn in immediately. There was no further discussion about Piazza, who did not attend the meeting.

More than three hours earlier, the meeting began with Mayor Susan Gartland reading a memorandum she prepared and addressed to Borough Administrator Paul Carelli.

Gartland then read one of the two complaint letters filed by attorney Patrick Toscano Jr., on behalf of three Caldwell police sergeants against Lawshe, who resigned two weeks ago to accept a position with the Caldwell Community Center.

As first reported by The Caldwells Patch on Friday, Toscano sent a complaint to borough hall addressed to the mayor and council on behalf of Sgts. Robert Fortunato and Fred Arnold on June 2, for comments Lawshe made during a May council meeting.

Toscano faxed a second complaint on July 19, for comments Lawshe allegedly made about Sgt. Michael Pellegrino during a recent incident at the Exxon gas station, Gartland said.

However, neither of these complaints were brought to the attention of the governing body until last week, prompting Gartland's memo to Carelli, who took over as borough administrator in mid-May.

"This effort to withhold a letter addressed to the governing body from the members of the governing body, undermines the policy and practice established by the mayor and council 15 years ago," Gartland read aloud to the public.

"Any and all correspondences and any and all communications that is addressed to the mayor, to the mayor and council or to the governing body members, is to be copied and distributed to the mayor and to each council member. The only exception is if the correspondence or communication is marked or otherwise designated as confidential or to be opened by the addressee only."

Gartland said the "open correspondence policy and practice" of distributing documents to the governing body on a weekly basis or at each council meeting as well as placing documents in the mail slots in borough hall "has served the governing body well over the years."

In addition, Gartland said the governing body could have been influenced to not appoint Lawshe to the role as sports programs/membership director at the community center if the information sent by Toscano was made available sooner.

"The decision to not distribute the letter to the mayor and council also raises other concerns because, as you are aware, the governing body considered Councilman Lawshe's application for employment a few weeks later," Gartland read from her memo to Carelli.

"Regardless of the merits of the complaint set forth in the letter, such information may have been considered by the governing body in the employment process."

While Mascera cautioned that the first letter was a "pending or threatening litigation," Gartland read the correspondence from Toscano in its entirety into the public record.

The complaint stemmed from comments Lawshe made during a public council meeting in May. As chairman of the public safety committee, Lawshe pointed out that two "high-ranking" officers combined to write one ticket over a four-month period.

Gartland said Toscano's complaint was sent via standard mail and was addressed to the "mayor and town council." According to Gartland, Toscano stated:

"I represent Sgts. Fortunato and Arnold. It has come to my attention that Councilman Gordon Lawshe has voiced a concern relative to my clients' summons output for a four-month period. Apparently, Mr. Lawshe has made certain disparaging remarks regarding my clients in a public council meeting. It is not my intention to interfere in any way with the day-to-day functions of the Caldwell Police Department. However, if my clients are defamed, I will take all legal recourse on their behalf.

Furthermore, it would seem that Mr. Lawshe's conduct may very well violate the dictates annunciated in NJSA40A:14-118. Accordingly, it would be appreciative if Mr. Lawshe's conduct and remarks in this regard cease immediately.

As their service records reflect, both of my clients are excellent police officers in their own right, as I'm sure the governing body realizes."

Since the second letter contained "comments asking the mayor and council to seek discipline against Councilman Lawshe and take all appropriate actions toward that end," Gartland said she would not read that correspondence into the record.

According to Mascera, the issue would be discussed in executive session following Tuesday night's public meeting. Mascera also said he didn't feel Lawshe's comments at the public meeting were in a defaming manner. 

"Truth is an absolute defense to defamation," Mascera said. "What Mr. Lawshe sat up there and said was that there was one officer who wrote one ticket and there was one officer who wrote no tickets, or something to that effect.

"That generated a letter from Mr. Toscano, suggesting that his clients were defamed. They may have been embarrassed by the fact they only wrote one ticket or no tickets, but there surely is not defamation."

Mascera said he discussed the first letter with Carelli, but never instructed the borough administrator to not distribute the correspondence to the governing body, as Gartland stated in her memo.

However, Carelli said he believed that each member of the governing body already had a copy of the letter.

"The first letter when it came in was about a week and a half after I started," Carelli said. "It was addressed to the mayor and council. I got a copy. I mentioned it to [Mascera]. Maybe back then, within the first two weeks of my employment—I wasn't even copied anywhere on this letter—I just assumed, and I guess I shouldn't have, that everyone else got it and I was just getting a copy for myself."

After speaking with Mascera, Carelli said he addressed the first letter with Lawshe, cautioning the former councilman, who was in the second year of a three-year term, to refrain from making similar comments in the future.

However, Mascera and Carelli were unaware a second complaint letter was faxed to borough hall in July.

The letter was placed in Mascera's borough hall mail slot, which the attorney didn't realize existed until last week, he said. Carelli said he was unsure how the fax got there.

"The second one, I didn't know about until the mayor came in. It's addressed to the borough attorney. I'm not copied on it. The mayor and council are not copied on it. I didn't know anything about it," Carelli said. 

"It was sitting in his mail slot, so now you all have it. People come up all day long to get faxes and they think they are doing something nice and they see it's for Greg and they stick it into his mail slot. I don't know how that could happen. But all day long, people are coming up getting faxes."

Carelli said "it won't happen again," and pointed out that a third unrelated letter—also from Toscano—had also been sitting in Mascera's mail slot until it was retrieved last week. There was no further discussion what that letter was in regard to.

According to Gartland, she was most concerned with the second letter.

"Unfortunately, I think the second one is a more troubling situation that I find upsetting," the mayor said. "The things that were said and recorded by Sgt. Pellegrino certainly make me stop and wonder as to whether the decision was correct with the location of Mr. Lawshe in his new job."

About a half-hour into the discussion, Norton pointed out to Gartland that there was another incident earlier this year when information was withheld from members of the governing body.

"This little sideshow here is strangely reminiscent—there are situations and allegations here that need to be addressed. But I think this hardly pales in comparison to an incident earlier this year when there was information that was not passed on to the mayor and council by the former borough administrator," Norton said. "There was question if the mayor knew that information was sent to the borough regarding the Lane Avenue project in regards to different levels of contamination that were serious enough to warrant the DEP of the state of New Jersey to address that situation.

"I think we really need to balance this out. I wished, mayor, that you had brought this to everyone's attention in executive session instead of publicly. Until there is a full and thorough review of all of the information, do you think this is the perfect spot to go out there and spew this out to the public?"

Gartland pointed out that others members of the governing body have conducted "circus" shows in the past and said perhaps this was her time to deliver a message.

"You know what, Joe? I do. I have never been one to ever conduct a sideshow or a circus. There are many people up here that have done that. Well, it's my turn then because everyone else has had the opportunity to do that," Gartland said.

"I felt it was important to bring this up, since all the newspapers, the blog [NJ.com's forum] and everyone else seemed to know about it except for the mayor and council."

However, Murray criticized the timing of the mayor's statement, which was delivered at the start of the meeting and not during the "new business" portion.

"Is that considered new business? Oh, I'm sorry, we'll just throw anything we want out there," Murray said sarcastically.

A member of the public responded by saying, "have some respect."

"You earn respect," Murray replied.

Offended by the comment, Gartland pointed out that her more than 20 years of service to the borough should demand a level of respect.

"I have spent 24 years up here and I have more than earned the respect, Mr. Murray," Gartland said firmly as Murray continued to speak. "Spend 24 years up here and I have been a perfect lady at every council meeting. I have been attacked and abused repeatedly, so I don't think that's an appropriate comment."

However, Murray pointed out that there are still procedures that should be followed during a meeting.

"Excuse me, mayor, but I'm saying that there is an agenda," Murray said. "So you are basically saying, 'Hell with the agenda.' Anytime somebody wants to come in and read a statement or do whatever they please, they have the right to do so? Is that what we're saying?"