Civil Rights Lawsuit Filed Against Holmdel, Police In 2016 DWI Case

HOLMDEL, NJ — A driver whose two DWI convictions in Holmdel were overturned on appeal has now filed a civil rights lawsuit against the township and certain police officers, his lawyer confirmed.

The lawsuit by brought by Nedal Elfar, now of Atlantic County, named the Township of Holmdel, Officers Matthew Menosky and Michael Sasso and former Chief John Mioduszewski as defendants in the suit, Elfar's lawyer Justin D. Santagata said.

The suit was filed Sept. 1 in U.S. District Court in Trenton and is seeking a jury trial. Santagata's office is in Atlantic City.

The complaint alleges that Elfar, formerly of Middletown, was "unconstitutionally stopped, searched and arrested" in Holmdel by Menosky and Sasso for allegedly driving under the impairment of marijuana, among other offenses.

"For over three years thereafter, he was maliciously prosecuted based upon the unconstitutional probable cause determination by Menosky and Sasso," the lawsuit alleges.

Holmdel Township Attorney Michael Collins had no comment on the lawsuit, noting that the township does not comment on pending litigation.

Santagata said that “Mr. Elfar looks forward to vindicating his civil rights in federal court before a jury of his peers.”

The lawsuit alleges that the "unconstitutional traffic stop, arrest and prosecution of Mr. Elfar was a substantial factor in his divorce from his wife and he continues to suffer emotional distress to this day. He was forced to move from the small Egyptian-American community near Holmdel where he resided because the malicious prosecution became too embarrassing to him."

The lawsuit recounted certain facts in the case: During Elfar's trial in Holmdel Municipal Court, it was determined that Menosky and Sasso turned off their microphones during the arrest when the two were conferring on probable cause. "The court nevertheless found Elfar guilty. He appealed and a second trial occurred, where Elfar was convicted again," the suit says.

The convictions were overturned on appeal in New Jersey Superior Court by Judge Lisa P. Thornton this past August, "six years after he began his unconstitutional odyssey," the suit says.

The lawsuit summarized Thornton's reversal: "In acquitting Mr. Elfar, the New Jersey Superior Court held that there was no probable cause for the search or arrest, that the video of his field sobriety test would not convince a reasonable police officer that he was impaired, that Menosky had given multiple, contradictory versions of the arrest during his testimony, and that he had given multiple, contradictory versions of why he ordered the microphones to be turned off during conferral on probable cause."

Mioduszewski, the former police chief of Holmdel, was named based on the lawsuit's contention that he "apparently had at least one ex parte communication with one of the municipal judges assigned to Mr. Elfar’s trial where Mioduszewski allegedly insisted that the prosecution should not be dismissed. In at least two writings, the municipal prosecutor expressed that she wanted to dismiss the prosecution but Menosky or Mioduszewski would not allow it," the lawsuit states.

The lawsuit claims Holmdel is liable, citing "a larger pattern and practice of inference where police officers, not municipal prosecutors, control the course of prosecutions." The suit also alleged a "pattern and practice of turning off microphones during probable cause conferrals for driving-while-impaired, in violation of the Fourth Amendment and its New Jersey analog." The suit also alleges Holmdel "does not adequately train or supervise its police officers in consent searches, plain view searches, or probable cause to arrest for driving-while-impaired on marijuana." Elfar's lawyer said in the suit Elfar plans to file a notice of tort claim with Holmdel for common law malicious prosecution.

The lawsuit says that Elfar had lived in Middletown with his wife and four children. In alleging damages, the suit says "By the time his unconstitutional prosecution was over and he was acquitted of all charges, he would spend tens of thousands of dollars in legal fees, fines, and penalties; have his drivers license suspended and then severely restricted; be forced to attend driving-while-impaired classes; divorce his wife and move away from his children."