A suspended New Jersey State Police sergeant has filed a whistleblower lawsuit against the division, saying he was retaliated against for reporting financial waste. According to the lawsuit, filed last week in Superior Court in Warren County, Sgt. James DeLorenzo, a 28-year veteran, reported mismanagement and waste within the State Police’s Solid Hazardous Waste Unit in 2006. "He hoped...
New Jersey State Police logo.A suspended New Jersey State Police sergeant has filed a whistleblower lawsuit against the division, saying he was retaliated against for reporting financial waste.
According to the lawsuit, filed last week in Superior Court in Warren County, Sgt. James DeLorenzo, a 28-year veteran, reported mismanagement and waste within the State Police’s Solid Hazardous Waste Unit in 2006.
"He hoped they would clean up their act," said his lawyer, George Daggett. "Instead of cleaning up their act, they made his life miserable."
Daggett said the waste included no-show jobs, but would not provide specifics.
The Solid Hazardous Waste Unit performs background checks on people and businesses seeking licenses to work in the solid and hazardous waste industry. It also investigates licensed companies to ensure they are compliant with regulations.
Since he made allegations of waste, the State Police has pursued three internal investigations of DeLorenzo, Daggett said. Two of the investigations were dismissed, but a third continued and prevented him from retiring, Daggett said.
Last August, DeLorenzo, who had started working at an insurance company in preparation for his eventual retirement, was suspended without pay from the State Police for conducting personal business during work hours, Daggett said.
"They said he shouldn’t have had another job," the lawyer said. "But the real reason is, it traces back to the fact he blew the whistle."
Daggett said DeLorenzo, of Blairstown, lost his insurance job when internal investigators reported him to the company.
"He has no job, he has no pay from the State Police, he has no benefits," Daggett said. "All because he pointed out that they were wasting money."
State Police spokesman Sgt. Stephen Jones declined to comment on the lawsuit. The internal probe of DeLorenzo has been referred to the state Division of Criminal Justice for further investigation, he said.
Lee Moore, spokesman for the Attorney General’s Office, also declined comment on the lawsuit.