|
The Star-Ledger
Former police chief
sues Fairfield
for gender
discrimination
by Guy Sterling,
nj.com from the Web. November 19, 2008
The former police chief of Fairfield
filed suit against the Essex County township today, alleging she was
discriminated against as a woman and a lesbian and effectively driven from her
job.
 |
|
| Former Fairfield Police Chief Lynn Centonze |
|
A complaint and request for a jury
trial on behalf of Carol Lynn Centonze were filed in Superior Court in Newark by
attorney Nancy Ericka Smith. Centonze, 47, was the first woman to serve on
the Fairfield force, working her way up to chief in 2001 after 14 years on the
job.
"After becoming chief, plaintiff was subjected to relentless ongoing harassment
because of her gender and sexual orientation," the complaint charged.
The discrimination and harassment resulted in "severe mental anguish,
humiliation, pain, distress and reputational damages, as well as loss of
earnings, pension rights and other employment benefits," Centonze's court papers
said.
In an interview, Smith accused some township officials and police officers of
ganging up on her client, even as a couple of others in Fairfield tried to step
in and stop them.
"This town has been taken over by some bullies," she said. "People are
afraid to stand up to them. No question they were involved in a
conspiracy."
Centonze is now employed by the New Jersey Office of Homeland Security and
Preparedness and is going to law school, her attorney said.
Fairfield Township Attorney Mark Winter did not return a call for comment, nor
did Mayor James Gasparini, a former councilman.
The complaint portrays Centonze as an educated, well-trained and
forward-thinking police official who tried to upgrade policing in Fairfield,
only to be met with resistance as she moved up the promotional ladder.
In 1999, she performed a captain's duties but wasn't given the rank, title or
pay, even though a male in the job previously did, the complaint said. The
same thing occurred two years later when the chief's job opened up, according to
legal documents.
Despite being "subjected to a biased and discriminatory selection process" for
chief, Centonze got the position in 2001 because of her "superior
qualifications" and because she had hired an attorney, the complaint charged.
But that only led to additional problems, with three officers refusing to accept
her authority and interfering with her ability to perform her job, the complaint
said. Their alleged acts were listed in the court papers in great detail,
everything from drinking on the job to running side businesses while on duty to
failing to carry out police responsibilities.
Centonze accused Gasparini and another councilman of condoning and joining in
the same harassing behavior.
Once she became chief, Centonze dedicated herself to professionalizing a
department "dominated by favoritism, lax rules and policies and unprofessional
conduct," the complaint claimed.
The court papers maintained the attacks against Centonze have never ceased and
that the township council "through its refusal to forcefully respond to that
behavior fomented and permitted the hostile work environment to continue and
worsen." Centonze left her job at the end of last year.
Smith said her client, who lives in Montclair, has moved on with her life and
did not include getting her old job back as part of the suit. In an
earlier court filing, Centonze said she would be seeking $5 million from her
suit, but Smith said they'll let the jury put a dollar figure on the amount of
damages if the case goes to trial and they prevail.
|
