Lt. Leonard Lugo wrote the bogus report in 2018 and still works at the Westfield Police Department.
Another supervisor, Sergeant John Tango, was involved is Wayman’s thefts from the WPD property room. Tango is the cousin of recently promoted Lt. Nicole Tango Stivale.
Wayman retired with town official’s blessings while Lugo and Tango continue to be employed as Westfield police supervisors.
NOTE: In breaking the public’s trust, both supervisors can’t possibly ever testify again in court and anyone involved in a motor vehicle stop, criminal complaint, or other police action that involves these two supervisors, must have their attorney request any and all records regarding their corruption.
From Patch story:
MIDDLETOWN, NJ — A Middletown police officer was charged last week with falsifying a report after getting into an accident with his police cruiser last summer, Monmouth County Prosecutor Chris Gramiccioni announced on Wednesday.
Thomas E. Foster, 33, of Keyport, is charged with fourth-degree falsifying records.
“Mr. Foster’s attempt to deceive his department by filing a false report violated the special trust afforded to him by his fellow officers and the public he serves," said Gramiccioni. "Especially now, the public should be reassured that our law enforcement officers are doing everything possible to uphold and enforce the law, not break it."
On Tuesday, he surrendered himself to the Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office to be served with a summons complaint for the charge.
That same day, he was suspended from the Middletown police force without pay until the criminal charge is resolved. A first appearance in court for Foster has not yet been scheduled.
“Dishonesty will never be tolerated within our Department by any of our officers," said Middletown Police Chief R. Craig Weber. "The alleged conduct is unacceptable and does not reflect the values of our agency and we strongly condemn the officer’s actions."
"This incident demonstrates both the importance and the effectiveness of the police internal affairs function," Weber added.
"This officer’s criminal behavior is not reflective of his department or the county law enforcement community,” added Gramiccioni.
The charge comes with a maximum of 18 months in state prison.
https://patch.com/new-jersey/middletown-nj/middletown-police-officer-accused-lying-cop-car-accident
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| David Wayman |
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| Leonard Lugo |
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| John Tango |
Everyone should keep in mind that the resignation of the former Chief "in good standing"had to have the full agreement of the Prosecutor and the civil government of Westfield. At the time, the Town wanted to"move on" and took the EASY way out.
ReplyDeleteSince the Prosecutor decided to let the Chief retire without criminal charges, it couldn't go against the two underlings for aiding and abetting the man to whom the Prosecutor had just given absolution. They were part of the problem the Town accepted in taking the EASY road. One was demoted.The other just remains on the record as involved in the violation of the Evidence Locker.
Under the new opening of police records, the Town must explain the demotion of the one officer. It will take a lot of appointed committees to come up with a consensus to which the mayor can point to convince the public that she was correct in aiding and abetting the cover-up that allowed the Chief to receive her stamp of approval and to allow his go-fers to stay on the force.
Ask John Tango about the time he got handcuffed at the PNC Arts Center and was “unarrested” after a phone call or two or three were made.
ReplyDeleteThis kid was hired, along with his cousin Nicole Tango, as a payback to his family for hooking Barney Tracy up with a job at Linden high school as a security guard.
Ahhh.....I think that Comment is not necessarily 100% on point. There was another officer who was fired......and his Dad was ....you guessed it! Superintendent of Linden BOE.
DeleteThat guy Wayman has the “kook” stare. Doesn’t look to be all there.
ReplyDelete
ReplyDeleteStatute of limitations is 7 years for Official Misconduct. The charge is elevated when crime is committed by police officers.
The public wants good officers to come forward with police corruption.
As long as superior officers conspire with the Town Administrator and other town officials, along with the Union County Prosecutors Office, those officers will not Come forward for fear of jeopardizing their career by being targeted for termination for doing what’s right.
Greg, what part of all of this does Internal Affairs play? Does every PD have it's own? If so, isn't that a conflict of interest which could result in the current situation that you refer to here?
ReplyDeleteThe current situation is most likely due to the fact that it stemmed from a corrupt police chief. In that case, the Union County Prosecutor is the “Internal Affairs” that investigates.
ReplyDeleteThe two supervisors could be disciplined by the ranking officer in the absence of the police chief who was under investigation but that discipline would most likely occur after consultation with the prosecutors office and a new chief named.
A source has stated that the UCPO allegedly messed up the theft investigation by not mirandizing Tango, who allegedly cooperated with the UCPO during Wayman’s theft investigation.
The UCPO was provided video surveillance of the thefts.
When I was interviewed by the UCPO during the DPW theft investigation, I specifically asked AP Melissa Spagnoli and Detective Colin McNamara why a white police Chief was collecting a police pension while a black Union County cop was headed to jail for the same crime....theft.
Spagnoli got defensive and claimed she wasn’t involved in Wayman’s theft investigation.
I’ve OPRA’d a copy of my videotaped interview and they refuse to turn it over.
A lawsuit is planned to obtain the video.
So, the answer to your question is “yes” every PD has an internal affairs however it’s the police policing the police concept.
Internal affairs at the local level does not play a role in the police chief being investigated, the prosecutors office takes over.
If ANY policeman is accused of a criminal act, the Attorney General guidelines requires the county prosecutor be notified. One specific reason is to avoid local authorities violating the suspect's constitutional rights.
ReplyDeleteIn the present case, the County Prosecutor seems to have been sufficiently clumsy to have violated the cop's rights.That means he could not be tried without using the tainted evidence.
While the officer could not be charged criminally, he could be returned to the Town for disciplinary action.
The information obtained by the Prosecutor illegally was only barred from use as evidence against him in a criminal trial of the officer. There was no prohibition of using that evidence in a disciplinary hearing unless the Prosecutor made a deal.
It seems difficult to understand why that would occur when the target was given the "baptism" of "in good standing" by the same Prosecutor.
Once the Prosecutor declares that no criminal charges will be filed against the accused policeman, the Town then has free rein according to the A.G. guidelines.
If an officer had his constitutional rights violated, it only meant he was lucky he was dealing with a stupid Prosecutor.
Of course it would be difficult for the local government to discipline him and leave him free to tell the world what really happened. Since he was being investigated for aiding and abetting the just retired chief, the Town might not want him to tell.
The Town Officials keep the lid on a scandal and they keep a "lucky" cop in a position where his silence helps out both himself and the Officials. The only people hurt are the good cops and the taxpayers.
What else is new?
Let's also remember that Battiloro was a witness to the offenses of the former chief and his aides. That puts him in a "conflict of interests" position concerning internal discipline. The authority for any discipline or lack thereof belongs to the Mayor and council.
ReplyDeleteIf Battiloro wanted to fire someone, his previous position as witness would have tainted his decisions, no matter how good.