Former Hackensack schools attorney files defamation suit against 3 trustees, their allies

The former Hackensack school board attorney who resigned to pursue legal action against three newly elected trustees for defamation has filed a four-count complaint in U.S. District Court against those trustees and their allies.

Meanwhile, the board members accused of defamation, and officials tied to their campaign, are standing by the claims they made leading up to a contested Board of Education election earlier this year.

Richard Salkin, who resigned in April, alleged in a 16-page complaint filed Friday that three trustees with close ties to the City Council circulated campaign literature that tarnished his reputation. During their campaign, school trustees Frances Cogelja, Carlos Velez and Lance Powell accused Salkin, whom they called a crony of the city's once-dominant Zisa family, of overbilling the district by thousands of dollars and violating state law by allegedly working without a contract — claims Salkin says are false.

The suit seeks monetary damages, which include loss of income from Salkin's roughly $130,000-per-year post, according to a copy of the complaint. 

"They made these claims in an effort to get elected, and because of their perception that he was affiliated with this former City Council and mayor who have not been in office for the last five years," said Mark Frost, Salkin's attorney. "Why else would you put out a campaign that smears him? They’re retaliating against him because they perceived his affiliation."

Although in Hackensack the council and board are elected in nonpartisan elections, the school board and council have long been divided by a political line. The council is controlled by Mayor John Labrosse and his administration, while the board was long governed by allies and supporters of the Zisa family, who previously worked to control and influence city politics.

Bergen judge:Hackensack elected officials' campaign Facebook page not subject to OPRA

Related:Hackensack school trustees clash over ex-administrator's corruption probe

More:Demolition crew tears down The Record's old headquarters in Hackensack

Earlier this year, Cogelja, Velez and Powell ran a successful campaign for three seats on the school board. Together they ran as the Putting Our Kids First team, with endorsements from Labrosse and his slate. In April, the three trustees ousted former board members Jason Nunnermacker, Daniel Carola and Mark Stein.

During the Putting Our Kids First campaign, the candidates distributed ads that depicted Salkin and Nunnermaker as two "longtime Zisa family cronies," accusing them of allowing school employees to do political work for Zisa City Council candidates on school grounds, the complaint says. The ad also alleged that Salkin raised his fees by more than 50 percent in two years and overbilled the district. In the suit, Salkin contests he did no such thing — instead, he says, he raised his fees by $10 per hour, which the suit describes as well below market value.

"It’s just not the facts, and they know it not to be the facts. This was an attack by that political team — Cogelja, Powell and Velez — with Labrosse supporting them," Frost said. "You have a mayor supporting these three individuals, which led to them being elected and essentially forcing Mr. Salkin out of his position."

The complaint lists Cogelja, Velez and Powell, the trustees' campaign manager Wendy Martinez, and the Hackensack school district as defendants in the suit. It also names Labrosse, the city of Hackensack, the city's public relations firm, Vision Media Marketing Inc., and the firm's vice president, Philip Swibinski.

"The statements made by the Putting Our Children First team were completely accurate and based on a rigorous review of public documents that Salkin's own lawsuit acknowledges our campaign obtained via the Open Public Records Act," Martinez said on behalf of the team in a text message. "We won't let him intimidate us and we will continue to speak out and advocate for Hackensack's students and taxpayers." 

Cogelja, one of the newly elected trustees, has been an outspoken critic of the supposed ties between the board and the Zisa family. On Monday, she called the lawsuit "legal harassment" and doubled down on her claims that Salkin took part in a secret and illegal meeting on the eve of the board's organization meeting in April, when she was sworn into office. In May, she called for an investigation into the alleged meeting.

"Everything that we said about Mr. Salkin during the campaign is completely accurate, truthful, and it’s all verified by public records," Cogelja said. "This is legal harassment, and I won’t be intimidated by Mr. Salkin, because the best defense is the truth and that’s what we have.”

In his suit, Salkin accused Swibinski and his firm of writing or co-writing campaign materials for the Putting Our Kids First slate, and also for the Labrosse team. 

"This frivolous lawsuit is an attempt by a bitter political hack to get one last shot at grabbing more money from Hackensack taxpayers," Swibinski said in an email. "There is absolutely no merit to Salkin's claims about defamation because all of the statements he refers to are true and supported by the facts and by public documents." 

Labrosse, who endorsed the trustees on his campaign's Facebook page, did not immediately respond to requests for comment on Monday.

Hackensack City Attorney Steven Kleinman said he is aware that a defamation lawsuit was filed against numerous individuals, as well as the city. 

“He has also named the city itself as a defendant, even though neither the city nor anyone speaking on behalf of the city made any of the allegedly defamatory statements," Kleinman said. "This appears to be nothing more than an attempt to extort the city for taxpayer funds in a matter in which it has no involvement. If he does not withdraw his claims against the city immediately, it will seek sanctions against him and his attorney in federal court.”

Board of Education President Lara Rodriguez and acting Superintendent Rosemary Marks deferred comment to the district's legal counsel. An attorney who represents the district did not immediately respond to requests seeking comment.