Witnesses for the 'prosecution'

Image by Citizensheep via Flickr

On March 29, when the Superior Court trial of my lawsuit started, the parties exchanged trial binders -- containing motions, witness and exhibit lists, exhibits, proposed jury charge and verdict sheet. Normally, the binders are exchanged a week before trial, but North Jersey Media Group asked to do so on March 29, and me and my lawyer agreed. Big mistake.

I soon learned the judge could easily bar any witness or exhibit I, as the plaintiff, didn't list. The defendants, on the other hand, listed many more witnesses than they called and included exhibits that widened the scope of the case beyond what I was prepared to address and rebut immediately.

NJMG listed 17 potential witnesses, including The Record's news copy desk chief, Vinny Byrne, one of my former bosses; Kim Kline, a former colleague and friend; Tim Nostrand, the ineffectual projects editor; head Assignment Editor Deirdre Sykes, a former defendant; Vivian Waixel, the previous editor; NJMG Chairman Malcolm A. "Mac" Borg; Theresa Forsman, former copy desk co-slot; Editor Frank Scandale (should be Scandal), also a former defendant; and Managing Editor Frank Burgos, perhaps the most hated man in the newsroom.

None of these witnesses appeared. When I scanned the list for the first time, I wondered whether Vinny Byrne and Kim Kline had been told they had to testify against me -- or else. Of course, I knew Scandale, Burgos and the other incompetent editors needed no incentive to testify -- eager as they are to retaliate for my criticism of them.

If Kim Kline did appear, I was planning to ask her how many years she had been working without a raise, and what reason she was given for not getting them.

I recalled how Scandale had ignored a note I slipped under his office door one night with some of the food fronts I had written, suggesting an expansion of food coverage. I also remembered his silence during a meeting in his office when I speculated that my age put me at a disadvantage for a promotion to assistant assignment editor. He just looked at me. 

He and Bob Cunningham, then head of the news and copy desks, scolded me for asking three reporters I had worked with as a copy editor to send e-mails to Sykes, if they thought I was qualified for the assignment desk. Cunning(ham) also insisted that as a copy editor, I was the reporters' "supervisor," and they would fear not recommending me. What a joke.

As for Burgos, he walked over to the copy desk on April 9, 2008, and asked me to come to a meeting with Jennifer Borg, in a voice loud enough for my colleagues to hear. When I protested later, he said he didn't think I knew where her office was. How could I not know after working at 150 River St. for nearly 30 years?

Burgos, according to the witness list, lives on Prospect Avenue in Hackensack during the week and in Wynnewood, Pa., on weekends -- this after how many years at the former Hackensack daily? I guess he doesn't feel too secure in his hatchet man's job.

What effect has the separation from family had on him? Does he eat alone every weeknight? Why does he like to call in veteran reporters and chastise them over their productivity or threaten them with termination if they don't return to work from a disability? How pathetic.