Suit Claims Bergen Officials Knew Of Gun Range Pollution: Report

MAHWAH, NJ — A lawsuit claims that not only did county officials know about the contamination at the Bergen County Police Academy gun range, they squashed an investigation into alleged crimes by those who led the dumping.

The suit accuses Bergen County Sheriff Michael Saudino of retaliating against Frank Carrafiello and other officers who investigated the remediation, a report by NorthJersey.com on the lawsuit states.

The suit names Saudino, the Bergen County Sheriff's Office and Prosecutor's Office and county government, according to the report. The suit alleges that Saudino demoted officers, forced others to retire and changed the assignments of those officers who investigated the remediation.

The New Jersey Sierra Club and Mahwah officials outlined the contamination at the Bergen County Law and Public Safety Institute. They announced that the county allegedly announced lead bullet casing and other potentially toxic materials to be dumped on the site for about a year.

Jeff Tittel, executive director of the Sierra Club, said the materials oxidized and broke down, possibly seeping into the groundwater and nearby streams, the Ramapo River and the Ramapo Aquifer, which provides drinking water to thousands of people.

A Bergen County spokeswoman said in April that County Executive James Tedesco's administration "took swift and immediate action upon learning of the potential environmental issue at the Law and Public Safety Institute shooting range located in Mahwah."

Related: Toxic Materials, Lead, Possibly Seeping Into Ramapo River, Officials Say

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Patch file photo of the sign outside of the Bergen County Police Academy gun range at the Bergen County Law and Public Safety Institute. By Daniel Hubbard