Englewood Cliffs must release potentially embarrassing recordings made by police chief
ENGLEWOOD CLIFFS — A judge has ordered the borough to release potentially embarrassing tape recordings made by Police Chief Michael Cioffi that are part of his legal case.
Judge Christine Farrington ordered the borough to produce an updated log of which tapes are covered by attorney-client privilege and which are not.
According to court documents, Officer Jim Tracy anonymously requested copies of the Cioffi tapes on July 31. The borough denied that request, citing a federal court's confidentiality designation. Tracy filed a verified complaint and order to show cause, alleging violations of the OPRA law for that request.
Farrington on Dec. 21 ruled that the recordings are available for request because the grounds of denial — a federal court’s “attorney’s eyes only” designation — had been withdrawn by Cioffi’s counsel in federal litigation. That lifted the protection on the recordings.
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The judge also noted that the mayor and Borough Council have continued to selectively release the recordings as well as use them for official business, such as disciplinary actions against police officers.
Tracy's attorney, Justin Santagata, said in an emailed statement that he and Tracy "appreciate the judge’s recognition that Englewood Cliffs cannot play fast and loose with public records by trying to withhold them from the public at large but, at the same time, using them for the purported benefit of certain officials in the course of official business."
Santagata went on to say that the recordings are "an unfortunate situation for many individuals involved and Englewood Cliffs simply did not treat the recordings with the sensitivity or decency that the situation required, which the judge recognized."
Mayor Mario Kranjac said during a special meeting Monday morning that he is “very happy" that the recordings made by Cioffi will come out.
“I am one of the people that sent an OPRA request for the tapes,” Kranjac said. “This town needs to understand the racist, sexually harassing, overtime-abusing conspiratorial tone and language that was used."
What’s on the tapes?
Attorneys found the tapes during the discovery process for a separate lawsuit Cioffi filed against Kranjac that alleged the mayor abused his power when he demanded that Cioffi exhaust his accrued vacation days before his retirement.
The 120 recordings by Cioffi came to light when portions were played publicly at a September council meeting by former Council President Carrol McMorrow. On one recording, Cioffi himself can be heard saying he would "like to kill" McMorrow.
"I’d like to kill her but I can’t do that," Cioffi says. "I look at 'The Shawshank Redemption' and say 'hmm.' "
As a result, Cioffi was placed on administrative leave without pay for 120 days, taking him to retirement. Lt. David Hill was placed in charge and later appointed acting chief.
Kranjac said the recordings led to three administrative charges against the chief.
Disciplinary charges that stem from conversations on the tapes were also filed against Capt. Brian Murphy and Lt. William Henkelman in September. Resolutions ratifying those charges were passed at the Nov. 8 meeting. The council voted along party lines, and Kranjac had to cast the tie-breaking vote.
The mayor and council also passed a resolution at that meeting to authorize the preparation and submission of disciplinary charges against Borough Clerk Lissette Duffy to the Department of Community Affairs because of statements she made on the tapes. It's unknown what Duffy was recorded saying.
Allegations of anti-gay bias
Tracy is also involved in a lawsuit against the borough alleging a hostile work environment. As a gay man, he said, he has been “subject to discrimination and homophobic comments as a police officer in the borough.”
It marks the latest of several lawsuits by North Jersey police alleging anti-gay bias.
In nearby Palisades Park, former Police Officer Robert DeVito says he was fired after reporting that Councilman Henry Ruh had made derogatory comments to the borough administrator. DeVito's notice of intent to sue, filed in May, alleges that Ruh used homophobic slurs in reference to a school board member.
Officer Matthew Stanislao was terminated from the Glen Rock Police Department in October 2014. After filing a lawsuit, Stanislao was reinstated with back pay in May 2017.
The suit alleged that Stanislao was harassed by other officers using derogatory comments and lewd gestures referring to his homosexuality.
Michael Saudino, the former sheriff, was forced to step down in September after a recording surfaced of racist and homophobic comments he made during a staff meeting earlier in the year.
Email: sobko@northjersey.com; Twitter: @katesobko
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