A whistleblower who documented racism at Clark’s town hall is again threatening to sue the township, saying officials have retaliated against him, disrupting his life and preventing him from securing new employment.
Former police Lt. Antonio Manata’s potential lawsuit represents the latest development in a scandal thrust into the public eye in March. That’s when NJ Advance Media revealed Clark had paid him more than $400,000 to conceal secret recordings he’d made of the mayor, the police chief and an internal affairs sergeant using racial slurs that included the n-word.
The intent-to-sue notice, filed with the township last month, claims Manata has faced consistent blowback from Clark officials, whom he accuses of undermining him in ways large and small. Those include claims the township stopped picking up his recycling and refused to process the firearms permit he needs to work as a former law enforcement officer.
“It’s clear that the town and its administrators have taken a retaliatory stance against my client,” said Anthony Kearns, an attorney for Manata who filed the tort claim. He said his client has “suffered a great deal for standing up for what has been right and what has been the truth.”
The salvo comes as a long-stalled investigation by prosecutors into misconduct at Clark’s police department continues in its third year without resolution, at a cost to local taxpayers that has reached about $1 million and counting.
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