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Tuesday, March 07, 2017

TFoTM Archive: Westfield Mayor Skibitsky Fails at Delegitimizing TFoTM. Calls It Innuendo, TFoTM Provides FACTS

     Today, 12-10-14, this site and this story/editorial are dedicated to E.M.  It is E.M. that once asked, "You're a cop, what goes on behind the closed doors of town hall?"  "You never read about the dirt in the local newspaper."
     It would appear that facts have caused some cracks in Mayor Skibitsky's rose colored glasses.
Westfield Mayor Andrew Skibitsky likes to divert from the facts that are damning to his administration.  At a recent town council meeting the mayor couldn't help himself by claiming that facts, presented to him, were innuendo..
     Claiming facts to be "innuendo" is Mayor Skibitsky's excuse and defense anytime he can't defend himself or defend against criticism supported by facts.
PARIZEAU
     Case in point:  When asked whether the following "Confidential Police Department Memo," that was referenced at a town council meeting, is "innuendo" or fact, Mayor Skibitsky refused to answer.  Instead, he stated that innuendo is "always" presented.  He then changed his response to "regularly" presented.  Mayor Skibitsky has a bad habit of backpedaling.
     TFoTM will let its readers decide.
     Here is the "factual" memo that was referenced to.  In the memo, then Westfield Police Chief John Parizeau admits to evidence of stealing/theft by one of his superior officers, but chose to do nothing but cover it up and sweep it under the rug.
   
So much for the office of the chief of police abiding by the oath he took when placing his hand on the Bible.  It has been alleged that the superior officer caught stealing time was John Rowe, a very close friend to Parizeau and the current police chief David Wayman.


     At the same town council meeting, and caught off guard, one of Mayor Skibitsky's staunch supporters on the town council came to his defense and stated, "Why don't we investigate how you got your hands on a confidential memo."
ANSWER: Because your police department already investigated it and couldn't find out how TFoTM got our hands on the memo.  Just like how town officials couldn't find out how TFoTM obtained a hand written memo by then Captain Dave Wayman, that instructed the municipal building's custodial staff to keep the handicapped bathroom across from Wayman's office locked at all times and to not give the key out to anyone.  It was revealed that Wayman was using the handicapped bathroom as his own personal commode.

     The Westfield Police Department's Internal Affairs Division, led by Wayman and Lt. Chris Battiloro, now a police captain, conducted an investigation within the police department to try and find out how The Fact of The Matter was obtaining information.  Questionnaires were handed out to both sworn and civilian employees asking over thirty questions regarding the employees' on-duty and off-duty internet activity with regards to this website and its moderators.  While the investigation went nowhere, $$$thousands$$$ of Westfield taxpayer dollars that funded Wayman's investigation were wasted.
   
WAYMAN
      If that wasn't enough, town officials contacted the Union County
Prosecutor's Office and asked them to step in.  At the time, Chief Parizeau and Captain Wayman's "Elite" police department, as he now likes to call it, needed help.
     A Union County Grand Jury subpoena was issued and the wheels of justice began to spin again until they were stopped by the American Civil Liberties Union.  The ACLU stepped in to defend The Fact of The Matter and have the subpoena "quashed."  New Jersey's "Shield Law," that protects journalists from revealing sources, was cited.
     Ultimately, the subpoena was withdrawn after motions were made to the court by the ACLU, and town officials were left empty handed and embarrassed once again.  More wasted tax dollars because Mayor Skibitsky and his police department don't want the public to know what really goes on.

     So it's reasonably understandable why Mayor Skibitsky, allies on the town council, and other town officials, will go to any length to discredit this website and the information it obtains.
     TFoTM will continue to bring information to its readers that can't be obtained anywhere else.  Our avenues of information remain open and protected despite attempts by town officials to thwart the process by wasting thousands of taxpayer dollars to satisfy their own, in the words of Councilman Frank Arena, "self serving ad-nauseam propaganda" .
     To Mayor Skibitsky, Town Administrator Jim Gildea, and Police Chief David Wayman:
There is a reason why there are those that share information with The Fact of The Matter.  It's because, believe it or not, some town employees are disgusted with the nepotism, back room wheeling and dealing, wasted tax dollars, favoritism, and corruption that has permeated Mayor Skibitsky's administration.
     No different than when I reported to the town, prior to my retirement, that former disgraced Westfield Police Chief Barney Tracy was having illegal criminal history checks done on Westfield residents, members of the press, and a sitting councilman during the infamous parking decks debate.  It is because of the town's retaliatory tactics towards an employee reporting corruption that has forced current employees to remain silent for fear of retribution.  TFoTM  can't blame them and will continue to provide an avenue of relief.      
   

   
   

4 comments:

  1. romankow was a poltical whore, went after the union county watchdog organization too and the same judge Cassidy judicially opined that the UCWA is considered a investigative journalism group and the shield law applies.

    Couple of links:
    the ruling: http://www.countywatchers.com/?page_id=12058
    the UCWA post: http://www.countywatchers.com/?p=9024
    the booting out of romankow/TREE comment: http://treeeditor.blogspot.com/2013/05/final-99-goodbye-union-county.html

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    1. James Tansey and Detective Koenig of the Union County Prosecutor's Office were supposed to investigate the crime of theft by the Westfield police supervisor. They were more interested in how TFoTM got its hands on the confidential police memo much like Mayor Skibitsky and other town officials. A citizen should not have to contact the prosecutor to have this crime investigated, town officials should. In this case they failed. Police Chief Parizeau was given the information by outgoing Police Chief Barney Tracy, who sat on the information and did nothing. When it was brought to the attention of town officials including Jim Gildea, Mayor Skibitsky, and the Westfield Town Council, they did nothing. The Town of Westfield allows a "caste system" to exist within the police department. The alleged thief, Det. Sgt. John Rowe was a close friend of the police chief and frequent social sidekick of the mayor and town administrator. While the Union County Prosecutor's Office made the choice not to charge Chief Parizeau, they never addressed the suspect of the crime that Parizeau had admitted happened, detailed in the confidential memo.

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  2. Time for a new mayor. He turns a blind eye to the shenanigans of his own chief.

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  3. Looks like that may not be happen until Bramnick vacates his seat. Too bad the Westfield "swamp" couldn't be drained when they did Mindowaskin pond. The whole thing reminds one of the kid who goes to all the off season sport camps in an effort to get a college scholarship. McCheese is hoping Bramnick's seat will be his scholarship.

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