Corrupt Westfield Police Sergeant Banks Bucks

NJ.com published a story documenting every New Jersey police officer salary including overtime and side job pay.  

See link to Westfield: 

https://projects.nj.com/paycheck/towns/westfield_town-union/ 

The link to the database of Westfield PD compensation, revealed that Sgt. Leonard Lugo, demoted from lieutenant in 2018 for his alleged role in police department thefts from the secured evidence/property room, earned more than Westfield Police Chief Chris Battiloro, both police captains Frank Padovano and John Ricerca, and most lieutenants.

Sgt. Lugo also authored the fabricated hit and run accident report involving disgraced ex-police chief David Wayman who was forced to resign in 2018 for his role in corruption uncovered by The Fact of The Matter and investigated by the Union County Prosecutors Office.

How can a Sgt. Leonard Lugo be trusted to supervise anyone?  How can Sgt. Lugo ever testify in a court of law after his integrity and oath to protect and serve has been compromised? 

Sgt. Leonard Lugo appears to have been rewarded for his alleged crimes with town officials remaining silent on why he was not terminated. 

 Full NJ. com story here: The true cost of policing 

https://www.nj.com/data/2022/01/the-true-cost-of-policing.html

Westfield BOE Candidate’s Claim of Harassment Unfounded

The Fact of The Matter reported on Westfield Board of Education candidate Emily Barker, leading up to last week’s election.  

Provided in the story were copies of Barker’s New Jersey Election Law Enforcement Commission filings regarding candidate contributions and expenditures. 

At no time did anyone allege any illegal activity and all information posted was obtained on the NJ ELEC website which is accessible by anyone. 

Anyone running for public office gives up the expectation of privacy regarding any information that appears on the public documents. 

Emily Barker was unsuccessful in her attempt to gain a seat on Westfield’s board of education and also unsuccessful in her claim of harassment. 

This is an example of a total waste of police resources just because a candidate was called out for her questionable campaign tactics including a text sent out to voters.  

Emily Barker’s overreaction is just another example why she’s not fit to serve on Westfield’s BOE.  

 

 

Robert Benacchio: Westfield BOE Candidate Violation of Election Law?

 

Is Robert Benacchio in violation of the New Jersey Election Law Enforcement Commission (ELEC) based on filings, or lack thereof, found on the commission’s website?

A search of ELEC’s website this morning revealed that Robert Benacchio’s ELEC reports submitted do not include expenditure/donation reports regarding the use of a postage indicia on his campaign mailings. 

The use of an indicia is an indication that postage has been prepaid by the sender.  

The use of this indicia for a mass mailing in Westfield could cost thousands of dollars yet Benacchio’s campaign filings show donations he made to himself totaling a paltry $1,183.76. 

Who paid the postage for Robert Benacchio’s campaign mass mailings and where is the required 48-hour report? 

Here is NJ ELEC’s requirement on filing within 48 hours. 

48-HR - 48-Hour Notices of Contributions. All candidates and committees, regardless of the amount spent, are required to file written notice with the Commission within 48 hours of the receipt of any contribution in excess of $1400 in the aggregate, from one source, received during the period starting with the 13thday prior to the election up to and including the date of the election of any such contribution. This notice may be filed by using Form C-1, a letter, a mailgram, a telegram, or any other written means.

48-HR - 48-Hour Notices of Expenditures. A political committee which makes expenditures in excess of $1400 in the aggregate starting with the 13th day prior to an election up to and including the day of the election must file a notice with the Commission within 48 hours of making the expenditure. This 48-hour notice may be filed by using the Form E-1, a letter, telegram, mailgram, or any other written means.

Who is funding Robert Benacchio’s campaign that he neglects to acknowledge as per New Jersey election law?  

Has a political party infiltrated this years BOE election and provided funding not listed on Benacchio’s filings with ELEC? 

Is Robert Benacchio someone that Westfield voters want meddling in non-partisan elections and bringing national politics to the local school board?

Could it be the same entity/entities that’s funding another Westfield BOE candidate (Emily Barker) in violation of ELEC laws?  

See Westfield BOE candidate Emily Barker’s story here:

http://07090.blogspot.com/2021/11/emily-barker-westfield-boe-candidates.html

Rob Benacchio: Westfield BOE Candidates Questionable Campaign Finances

The New Jersey Election Law Enforcement Commission (ELEC) sets laws regarding the documentation and transparency of campaign donations and expenditures. 

How can Westfield BOE candidate Rob Benacchio collect only $1,183.76 in donations to himself, but yet purchase campaign literature for a town wide mailer and also campaign signs that run into the thousands of dollars.

Some things just don’t add up?  Who’s behind the financial support of candidate Rob Benacchio?  What kind of shell game is being played here and where is the money coming from to fund what clearly is a campaign backed by an entity, or entities, allegedly not listed in his ELEC report. 

Perhaps Rob Benacchio has grown the ultimate money tree in his backyard or unearthed that pot of gold at the end of a rainbow. 

Surely Rob Benacchio isn’t that pot carrying leprechaun but more like a Trojan horse waiting to fool voters and unleash his politically backed agenda should he be elected to the Westfield Board of Education. 

Keep in mind that Rob Benacchio is the sitting Vice-chair of the Westfield Republican Committee.

Should we expect Rob Benacchio’s next ELEC Report, after the election, to disclose a donation from the Westfield Republican Committee?  Is this who we want serving on the BOE?  If we can’t trust him while he’s running for elected office, how can we trust him if he’s elected to office?

The Westfield Board of Education election is supposed to be non-partisan.

JoAnn Neylan: Town Council Candidate Embellishes Employment Record

The following information is from a source in the New York District Attorney’s office:

Take a look at JoAnn Neylan’s LinkedIn account.  Looking at JoAnn Neylan's LinkedIn Account, notice that she started at the Brooklyn DA office fresh out of law school.  

With that being the case and assuming that she passed the New York state bar, her role was to support Senior Attorneys by doing legal drudge work and assisting them with their duties.  At best she would have been handed low level infraction cases that were to be settled by plea bargains for which the parameters are already set and then possibly appear in court for sentencing.  

Neylan graduated from Brooklyn law school and after serving in what could be considered a support role at the Brooklyn DA’s office, it wouldn’t be until 21 years later that she would go to work for Spector, Foerst and Associates.  Her fellow town council member James Foerst, a partner at the law firm, gave her a job.

Her political connections on Westfield Town council didn’t stop there.   JoAnn Neylan was hired in Mountainside as the public defender where she defends criminals and others in need of representation.  Her connection…..James Foerst is the Mountainside prosecutor.  

Now that’s a “sweetheart deal” for anyone seeking employment.  

In 2012, Acting Mayor JoAnn Neylan swore in a police chief that she was forewarned was corrupt.  Westfield Police Chief/Thief David Wayman would be removed from office in 2018 for his role in a cover up of his own hit and run accident and thefts from the WPD evidence/property room  

To call herself a "prosecutor" is overstating herself.  Her support of criminals is evident.

JoAnn Neylan's Revisionist History

     The following pictures featured are downtown Westfield properties from 2017.  We've come a long way, why would we want to go back to Councilwoman JoAnn Neylan's downtown Westfield?  

     As you scroll through these pictures from 2017,  take a walk through history not long ago and realize what downtown Westfield looked like under Neylan and her administration.

     As we stand today, about three quarters of these vacancies have been filled and almost all were filled during a pandemic when many businesses were shut down for months.

     As usual, Councilwoman Neylan relies on revisionist history and false narratives because #JoAnnHasNoPlan.

Obviously, the best people to ask what they need are the downtown business owners.............they have spoken loud and clear. 

Westfield Leader 2021

Meet Corrupt Leonard (Leo) Lugo

This biographical bullshit couldn’t be further from the truth. 

“In 2018, Leo Lugo chose to direct his focus on shaping the new generation of police officers. He left the Detective Bureau and became a Platoon Supervisor, a role he is ideally suited for. Mr. Lugo continues to bring his formidable skills as an investigator, supervisor, and instructor to bear as the Platoon Supervisor, and the Westfield PD is enriched by his efforts.”

Leonard Lugo didn’t “chose to direct his focus on shaping a new generation of police officer?” Who the hell would want this corrupt piece of shit supervising anyone? Why wasn’t he fired for his role in thefts from the Westfield police department’s evidence/property room?  

He was demoted out of the detective bureau for his role in the thefts and is currently a patrol sergeant but hey, “platoon supervisor” it is. 

“Formidable skills?”……….what? Allegedly cutting off a lock to the department’s evidence property room to facilitate theft with his asshole buddy, the corrupt and disgraced police chief thief David Wayman. 

One formidable skill Lugo has is writing bogus leaving the scene accident reports involving Wayman.  

This guy betrayed the very badge he took and oath to earn. He shouldn’t be in charge of cleaning the locker-room toilets.  

https://www.leonardlugo.com/

Sexual Assault Suspect in Custody

From Westfield Police:

𝗣𝗟𝗔𝗜𝗡𝗙𝗜𝗘𝗟𝗗 𝗠𝗔𝗡 𝗔𝗥𝗥𝗘𝗦𝗧𝗘𝗗 𝗙𝗢𝗥 𝗪𝗘𝗦𝗧𝗙𝗜𝗘𝗟𝗗 𝗦𝗘𝗫𝗨𝗔𝗟 𝗔𝗦𝗦𝗔𝗨𝗟𝗧 

 

A Plainfield man was arrested early this morning after being criminally charged with sexually assaulting a woman during a home invasion in Westfield on Tuesday, Union County Prosecutor William A. Daniel and Westfield Police Chief Christopher Battiloro jointly announced Friday.

Terence Rhue, 22, is charged with first-degree aggravated sexual assault, first-degree robbery, second-degree burglary, third-degree possession of a weapon for unlawful purposes and fourth-degree unlawful possession of a weapon in connection with the attack on a female resident. 

Westfield Police Department patrol units responded to the area Forest and Longfellow Avenues at approximately 12:50 p.m. on Tuesday in response to a report of a sexual assault by an armed intruder, according to Union County Assistant Prosecutor Caroline Lawlor, who is prosecuting the case.

An exhaustive investigation led by the Union County Special Victims Unit and the Westfield Police Department, and assisted by the Union County Sheriff’s Office Crime Scene Unit, the New Jersey State Police Regional Operations Intelligence Center (R.O.I.C.), as well as the Plainfield, Scotch Plains and Fanwood Police Departments, resulted in the identification of Rhue as the suspect and led to his eventual capture and arrest.

“We are grateful for the collaboration with the local and State law enforcement agencies who assisted our Office in quickly locating and apprehending the suspect,” Prosecutor Daniel said. 

Rhue is currently being held in the Union County Jail pending a First Appearance. 

Anyone with information about this matter is still urged to contact Prosecutor’s Office Detective Annie Coll at 908-347-2474 or Westfield Police Department Detective Betsy Savnik at 908-789-6078.

Convictions on crimes of this nature are commonly punishable by terms of up to twenty years in state prison.

These criminal charges are mere accusations. Every defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in a court of law.

Westfield Police Announcement on Sexual Assault Suspect

 𝗪𝗘𝗦𝗧𝗙𝗜𝗘𝗟𝗗 𝗛𝗢𝗠𝗘 𝗜𝗡𝗩𝗔𝗦𝗜𝗢𝗡 𝗨𝗡𝗗𝗘𝗥 𝗜𝗡𝗩𝗘𝗦𝗧𝗜𝗚𝗔𝗧𝗜𝗢𝗡

 

A home invasion sexual assault that took place in Westfield Tuesday is under investigation, Union County Prosecutor William A. Daniel and Westfield Police Chief Christopher Battiloro jointly announced this morning. 

Westfield Police Department patrol units responded to the area of Forest and Longfellow Avenues at approximately 12:50 p.m. Tuesday in response to a report of a burglary and sexual assault by an armed assailant, according to the preliminary investigation. 

The investigation into the attack is being led by the Union County Special Victims Unit and the Westfield Police Department and assisted by members of the Union County Sheriff’s Office Crime Scene Unit and the New Jersey State Police.

Attached is a composite sketch of the suspect in the assault. Anyone who may know this individual or has any information about this matter is urged to contact Union County Prosecutor’s Office Detective Annie Coll at 908-347-2474 or Westfield Police Department Detective Betsy Savnik at 908-789-6078.  Members of the public are strongly discouraged from approaching or confronting any individuals they believe to resemble the suspect composite, but are instead advised to contact members of law enforcement.   

Tips can also be submitted anonymously by phone at 908-654-TIPS (8477) or online at www.uctip.org; submission of tips made in this fashion that result in an indictment and conviction can be eligible for a reward of up to $10,000 via the Union County Crime Stoppers.

Westfield Police Release APB on Home Invasion Suspect

 

Corrupt Former Parking Director Looking to Make a Comeback?

 Stay tuned for details on this corrupt former Westfield parking director’s possible comeback under a Neylan administration.  He bounced from Westfield to Hoboken to Allentown, Pa.  The “parking czar” that the Skibitsky administration partnered with to bring electronic parking meter stations to Westfield is at it again.  Any prospective employer that digs deep enough knows what this guy is all about and should steer clear.  More to come