HOBOKEN, NJ — A cannabis business that sued two former Hudson County mayors — saying they hindered the company's application in order to help a mayor's wife — can depose a jailed Hoboken official, according to a court ruling.
In 2024, Nature's Touch Dispensary filed a lawsuit accusing Hoboken Mayor Ravi Bhalla (now an assemblyman) and former Jersey City Mayor Steven Fulop of involvement in holding up their Hoboken application, in order to help a planned dispensary in a property co-owned by Fulop's wife.
As first reported on Hudson County View last week, the recent Aug. 14 order means that former Hoboken Human Services Director Leo Pellegrini will be allowed to testify in the suit, despite being in prison.
The 2024 lawsuit said the mayors interfered in order to help Fulop's wife, who co-owned storefront rented by Story dispensary, which has yet to open. READ MORE: Work Resumes On Fulop-Linked Dispensary
Pellegrini, who was sent to jail for embezzling Hoboken recreation funds, had initially accused Bhalla of interfering in the application.
Pellegrini sat on the city's Cannabis Review Board, among holding other positions.
Pellegrini had also filed suit against Bhalla, but his case was dismissed last year.
In 2022, Hoboken's City Council decided that only six dispensaries could open in the mile-square city. Some council members also said they didn't fully understand zoning they voted for that would allow dispensaries to be placed in a residential area.
Pellegrini's deposition must be finished by Oct. 15 of this year, the judge ruled.
RELATED: Pellegrini Lawsuit Against Bhalla Dismissed
RELATED: Story Dispensary Application Considered
RELATED: Story Dispensary Approved In Wee(d) Hours
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