By Peter D’Auria
NJ Advance Media Group, Edison, N.J.
JERSEY CITY, N.J. — A Superior Court judge ordered Jersey City to pay $626,211 to a Jersey City police lieutenant who was cleared of criminal charges in a no-show jobs case.
In a May 29 decision, Judge Joseph A. Turula ordered the city to pay back pay and legal fees incurred by Lt. Kelly Chesler, who has been at the center of a years-long saga involving a disbanded motorcycle unit, whistleblower complaints and allegations of falsified timesheets.
On Aug. 28, Judge Turula determined the amount to be $626,211. The ruling was first reported by realgardenstate.com.
“I’m very happy that the judge followed the law and compelled to city to meet their obligations and make my client whole,” said Jeffrey Garrigan, Chesler’s attorney.
It’s unclear if the city has plans to appeal. A city spokeswoman declined to comment, saying Jersey City does not comment on ongoing litigation.
The city also has been sued in Hudson County Superior Court by retired police Capt. Joseph Ascolese, who was charged along with Chesler and two other officers. Ascolese, seeking reimbursement for attorney’s fees, pension benefits and other damages, has offered to settle the lawsuit for $383,000, according to a court document.
In 2014, News12 reported that several police officers, including Chesler and Ascolese, were billing the city thousands of dollars in overtime and commuting to and from work in city vehicles.
After the report, Jersey City disbanded the city’s motorcycle unit, which was headed by Chesler and Ascolese. In response, the pair filed a federal lawsuit against the city, claiming that the city was retaliating against them for filing whistleblower complaints of sexual harassment within the unit.
In 2016, Hudson County prosecutors released a 107-count indictment of four officers, including Ascolese and Chesler. The officers had falsified records to get paid for off-duty jobs they did not perform, according to the indictment. Prosecutors charged them with conspiracy, theft by deception, and falsifying records, among other charges.
The charges were not part of a separate federal investigation into off-duty jobs, which led to guilty pleas from 11 Jersey City police officers.
Chesler and two other police officers, Michael O’Neill and Michael Maietti, were suspended without pay. But two years later, a judge dismissed the charges against Chesler, Ascolese, and O’Neill. Maietti had already accepted a plea deal.
Chesler, Ascolese, and O’Neill then sued Jersey City, seeking reimbursement for back pay and legal expenses.
“At all times, plaintiff Chesler’s actions arose out of and were directly related to the lawful exercise of her police powers in the furtherance of her official duties,” Chesler’s lawsuit reads.
The Jersey City city council approved a settlement with O’Neill last month for $210,000. Ascolese’s case is ongoing, as is the federal lawsuit.
In his May 29 ruling in Chesler’s favor, Judge Turula wrote that, “when looking at the record, in a light most favorable to (the defendants), the record is so one-sided as that (Chesler) must prevail as a matter of law.”
©2020 NJ Advance Media Group, Edison, N.J.