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| Hackensack, former home of The Record and North Jersey Media Group. |
A former employee of North Jersey Media Group alleges in a sexual-harassment lawsuit that Malcolm A. "Mac" Borg sent pornographic e-mails to managers and supervisors, and that he knew she would see them.
Plaintiff Tracey McCain of Englewood says she worked for NJMG from 2000 to April 22, 2009, when she was fired. She was hired as technical coordinator for the IT department in what is now Woodland Park. In 2007, she was promoted to IT logistics manager.
Borg, 72, now chairman of NJMG, is the former publisher of The Record, a job taken over by his son, Stephen A. Borg, who is not a defendant in the suit. The elder Borg also lives in Englewood.
McCain says one of her duties was to read e-mails sent to her supervisor, who was identified in legal papers as Peter Van Lenten Jr., vice president of information technology.
"Commencing in or about 2000 and until plaintiff's employment terminated, defendant Borg committed acts of sexual harassment of plaintiff," according to the complaint, which Eye on The Record obtained Monday from the Bergen County Courthouse in Hackensack.
"Defendant Borg caused to be disseminated, via electronic mail, to various managers and supervisors within NJMG and specifically to the direct supervisor of the plaintiff, various pornographic videos which were vulgar and offensive and sexually degrading and did so with the knowledge that such material would be viewed or inspected by the plaintiff," according to the suit.
The suit goes on to allege Borg also sent e-mails to managers and supervisors containing "pornographic pictures," vulgar and offensive "audio recordings" and "other material."
Since the lawsuit was filed on Dec. 7, 2009, a lawyer for NJMG has filed an answer that denies all of the allegations.
McCain is represented by Demetrios K. Stratis of Fair Lawn, and NJMG is represented by Samuel J. Samaro of Pashman Stein in Hackensack.
The suit has been assigned to Superior Court Judge Joseph S. Conte, who greeted Malcolm Borg warmly when he saw him in his Hackensack courtroom in April.
McCain's lawsuit also alleges:
"Defendant NJMG knew of the actions of defendant [Malcolm] Borg and failed to take reasonable measures to prevent same from occurring. Defendant NJMG failed to enact or implement policies or procedures to prevent such behavior."
Jennifer A. Borg, daughter of Malcolm and big sister of Stephen, is vice president and general counsel of NJMG. In recent years, she has spent a great deal of time monitoring employees' use of company equipment, including computers and telephones.
Pete Van lenten was fired in 2009. He passed away in 2010. (Obit. in The Record).Please dont post this comment.. Thank You...
ReplyDeleteMac, you old horndog you! I don't see Ms. McCain winning this suit, as he allegedly sent the reputed porno videos to Pete Van Lenten and he isn't accused of making a direct pass at her. Nevertheless, it's cool that this particular skeleton is out of the closet. I wonder how Mrs. Mac feels about it. Incidentally, while researching this little tidbit last week, I found reference to a libel suit the Record successfully defended last year over a headline on a 2006 story about the NorVergence bankruptcy.
ReplyDeleteTo Anonymous No. 1:
ReplyDeleteI know he died. It was in the legal papers I reviewed today.
To Anonymous No. 2:
This is the kind of suit that can be "won" by settling and buying the plaintiff's silence.
Sorry to the Anonymous who asked me not to post the comment about Pete VanLenten, but what happened to him is common knowledge.
ReplyDeleteAlso, I sometimes post comments inadvertently even though I meant to delete them, though that didn't happen in this case.
ReplyDeleteThe "publish" and "delete" buttons are right next to each other.
What did "OJ" do to the Cliffview Pilot?
ReplyDeleteWas there more VICTIMS of "OJ"?
Can "OJ" get away with anything?