Bergen County officials were not only aware of the pile of contaminated soil that sat for more than a year near the Bergen County Police Academy gun range in Mahwah, but also killed a Bureau of Police Services investigation into possible crimes committed by those who directed the dumping, according to a lawsuit filed by 21 current and former bureau officers.
The suit, filed in state Superior Court in Paterson, also accuses Michael Saudino, the Bergen County Sheriff, of demoting and reassigning Frank Carrafiello – the former bureau lieutenant who reported the soil heap to the state Department of Environmental Protection – as well as other bureau officers who investigated the remediation.
The suit, which named Saudino personally as well as the Bergen County Sheriff’s Office, Prosecutor’s Office and the county government, alleged Saudino changed assignments, forced retirements, demoted qualified officers so he could elevate those loyal to him and created a generally hostile work environment for bureau officers still working for him.
Espinosa and Mullin were also demoted and removed from their assignments, which the suit said was because of their gun range investigation.