Superior Court Judge Stephen Petrillo on Friday rejected a bid by the Township of Montclair to seal a whistleblower lawsuit that would effectively chain the doors of the courtroom and deny the public access to the proceedings.
Montclair’s chief financial officer, Padmaja Rao, alleges she was bullied after the township manager, Timothy Stafford, of irregularities related to health insurance for local elected officials, fraudulent time cards for the fire department, and improper public bidding.
Petrillo found the townships’ motion “sort of dubious,” according to a report from Montclair Local.
“The town, which Ms. Rao has accused of being corrupt, stealing money from the taxpayers and creating a hostile work environment for women and illegally covering that up and not complying with any of the remedial actions they’re supposed to take, now wants to stop all financial management and controls,” Montclair Local reported Rao’s attorney, Nancy Erika Smith, said. “They want to stop Ms. Rao from being able to see further financial crimes because Riker Danzig is defending not the town, not the people, but the wrongdoers in this courtroom today. So they want to stop somebody who’s shown to be ethical, who they call unethical, and who’s being loyal, who they call disloyal, from continuing to be ethical and loyal.”
The judge also pressed the township’s attorney, Derrick Freijomil of Riker Danzig, to explain who was directing him to seal the lawsuit from public view. One councilor,...
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