19 budget meeting in which Judge Korngut commented on the decline in revenue, Chief Caloiaro attributed a decline in the number of traffic tickets issued as “decreased morale,” the lawsuit said. The police officers claim that in a departmental meeting in September 2018, Chief Caloiaro emphasized the need to issue more traffic tickets because “revenue (from Lawrence Township Municipal Court) was down.” He repeated it again in March 2019, the lawsuit said.ĭuring the annual budget meetings held by Lawrence Township Council, Municipal Court Judge Lewis Korngut said the decline in Municipal Court revenue for 2018 was an aberration, and that now it was on the “upswing.”Īt the same Feb. The police officers are seeking judgment against Chief Caloiaro and Lawrence Township for violating their civil rights and for violating the New Jersey Conscientious Employee Protection Act for being whistle-blowers. The lawsuit also claims that Chief Caloiaro and Lawrence Township have “systematically developed a system to siphon as much money as possible from motorists by demanding cars be impounded by officers, which cost a motorist over $300 more than the motor vehicle ticket.” The fee cannot be appealed to the Municipal Court judge. The lawsuit claims the police officers “have been retaliated against for trying to stop an illegal ticket quota system used to fund the operations of Lawrence Township at the expense of motorists traveling through Lawrence Township.” Fines are one of the sources of revenue for the municipal budget. The lawsuit claims that police officers are under pressure to issue traffic tickets to make up for a revenue shortfall in Lawrence Township Municipal Court. Gray represents the six police officers who brought the lawsuit.
14 court filing made in Mercer County Superior Court by attorney Christopher Gray, who represents the plaintiffs.
“Plaintiff hereby voluntarily withdraws Policemen’s Benevolent Association Local 119 from the litigation,” according to a Nov. Caponi and Mejia are the president and vice president, respectively, of PBA Local 119.
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