Hackensack agrees to pay nearly $3M to former police chief

Former Hackensack Police Chief Charles "Ken" Zisa (BergenDispatch.com).

By VICTOR E. SASSON
EDITOR

Hackensack will pay former Police Chief Charles "Ken" Zisa nearly $3 million, hoping to end one of the most contentious periods in the city's history.

Zisa, who was suspended in 2010 after 34 years in the Police Department, will receive nearly $1,755,000 in back pay, vacation days, sick days and other compensation.

And the city also will pay nearly $1,203,000 to cover Zisa's legal fees through Sept. 30.

Criminal case

On Aug. 23, a state Superior Court judge dismissed the single remaining charge of official misconduct against Zisa.

That charge was related to a 2008 incident in which the chief was accused of  removing his then-girlfriend from the scene of a car accident before she could submit to a sobriety test.

Zisa later filed an insurance claim for $11,000 in damages, saying the girlfriend, Kathleen Tiernan, swerved to avoid an animal.

In a 2012 criminal trial, a Superior Court jury found Zisa guilty of five counts, but the judge at the time, Joseph Conte, dismissed three guilty verdicts, leaving only insurance fraud and official misconduct.

Zisa was sentenced to five years in prison, but remained under house arrest during his appeal.

In 2015, a state appeals court dismissed the insurance fraud charge.

Zisa tort claim

On his last day as city manager on Friday, David R. Troast and City Attorney Alexander H. Carver III agreed to make the nearly $3 million in payments to settle Zisa's claim for damages.

They did so without advising Mayor John Labrosse or other members of the City Council.

Zisa demanded $5 million in damages, claiming his constitutional rights were violated "by the unlawful conduct of the city of Hackensack."

He listed the damages as "lost wages, lost benefits, psychological and emotional, attorney's fees and punitive damages."

Payments to Zisa

Zisa received the first of three payments to cover back pay and other items related to his job on Friday -- nearly $660,000.

He is due to be paid two more installments of nearly $548,000 on Jan. 10, 2017, and Jan. 10, 2018.

The so-called Payment Agreement and Release notes the city will not pursue administrative charges against the former chief.

Zisa advised the city he wants to retire rather than return to duty as police chief after an absence of more than six years.

So, he was reinstated and placed on administrative leave with pay until his pension rights are restored. 

Counsel fees

The agreement notes the city manager has reviewed the legal bills and invoices submitted by Zisa defense attorney Patricia Prezioso, "has found them reasonable, and has directed payment in full."

The exact amount is listed as $1,202,867.52.

That's on top of the job-related payments of $1,754,790.40.

Suits against Zisa

More than 20 police officers filed suits against Zisa, who also once served as a Democratic state assemblyman.

The city was obligated to defend him and pay his legal fees.

City officials say those fees totaled $8 million in one four-year period when Zisa's cousin, Joseph C. Zisa Jr., was city attorney.

They said Joseph Zisa would retain as many as 10 lawyers to fight each case.

Repeated errors make a mockery of younger Borg's motto

The Record's Local section this past Saturday ran a photo of the old Bergen County Jail, above, but the caption said: "An iron worker working to secure a beam at the construction site of the Bergen County Justice Center next to the jail in Hackensack on Friday." The photo, cropped to show only the top of the beam and the jail's turrets and parapets, confused readers who have watched the slow construction of the Justice Center, below.

Is the beam shown in Saturday's L-3 photo part of a pedestrian bridge that will connect the new building to the Bergen County Courthouse? The Record's caption didn't say. Another photo caption, on Saturday's L-2, described a BMW as a Toyota. 

By VICTOR E. SASSON
EDITOR

It's right there under the masthead on Page 1 of The Record every day:

"NORTH JERSEY'S TRUSTED SOURCE"

Publisher Stephen A. Borg, who took over from his father nearly a decade ago, made a marketing decision to replace The Record's original motto:

"FRIEND OF THE PEOPLE IT SERVES"

Borg followed with several big, money-saving decisions that resulted in less local coverage -- especially of Hackensack -- and a rising number of errors, which has eroded North Jersey readers' trust in the Woodland Park daily.

Monday's paper carried a story on a nationwide poll that found:

"Trust in the news media is being eroded by perceptions of inaccuracy and bias .... Nearly 90 percent of Americans say it is extremely or very important that the media get their facts correct." 

Accuracy, accuracy, accuracy

Literally hundreds -- if not thousands -- of errors have appeared in the Road Warrior column since the "trusted source" motto was adopted, and few of them have been corrected by six-figure Production Editor Liz Houlton or Editor Deirdre Sykes.

Sykes handpicked Staff Writer John Cichowski to write the column starting in September 2003. 

In recent years, corrections of hundreds of editing and reporting errors by others have appeared regularly on A-2, but The Record rarely corrects an error unless someone calls to complain.

The message drummed into journalism students is "accuracy, accuracy, accuracy," especially when it comes to spelling names.

A perfect example is a story in the local-news section today by Staff Writer John Seasly, who covered the Hackensack City Council on Monday night:

The reporter quoted a resident, and made sure to describe him as someone "who regularly attends the meetings," but misspelled his last name.

Richard L. Cerbo, whose father was a former Hackensack mayor, is the one who called for a tax cut in comments before the council approved a 2016-17 budget of $100.4 million.

Seasly wrote, "Rich Serbo" (L-3).

The entrance to Hackensack's main recreation center, the M&M Building on Holt Street, where voters cast ballots on Tuesday in the city's Board of Education election. I saw three voters ask for someone who spoke Spanish, but none of the 10 or so poll workers did. One poll worker barked in English, "Just go in there [the voting booth] and vote." Poll workers are paid $200 for the day. Most are seniors who have nothing better to do with their time than sit on their asses all day as their contribution to democracy.

School election

In addition to outright errors like misspelling someone's name, the errors of omission erode readers' trust in The Record.

At Monday night's council meeting, Seasly was asked why he didn't do a story on the Hackensack school election, especially the issues involved and the attempted political comeback by the Zisa family, which backed three of the nine candidates.

The reporter said a story was scheduled to appear on Tuesday, the day of the election, but none did.

Today, The Record's coverage of the results in 10 towns devotes the least space to Hackensack, even though the city has the most students and the biggest school budget, not to mention the most candidates.

Voter apathy

Of course, the story Seasly missed is that voter apathy and the status quo ruled the day, with only 795 of about 20,000 registered voters approving the $104 million Hackensack school budget.

A total of only 1,293 residents voted on the $79 million tax levy, which supports an overall school budget that is higher than the municipal budget.

Mail-in ballots weren't counted Tuesday night, but unofficial results show that:

Two Zisa-backed candidates, incumbent Timothy J. Hoffman and former trustee Modesto Romero, were elected along with incumbent Lara L. Rodriguez, who was on another slate (with only 727, 604 and 711 votes, respectively).

(I reported the affiliation of the candidates incorrectly when this was first posted. The Record reported Rodriguez's vote total incorrectly in Wednesday's paper.)

Seasly never reported that school taxes represent nearly half of the total property tax bill or that the ballot was confusing, with candidates' names appearing randomly without numbers or such identification as "Citizens for Better Schools" or "Team Hackensack."

Today's paper

Even though Borg and Sykes continue to ignore Hackensack, they are doing a bang-up job of publicizing medical miracles at Hackensack University Medical Center (A-1).

Borg's older sister, Vice President/General Counsel Jennifer A. Borg, once served as an HUMC board member.

The sprawling medical center calls itself a non-profit, and as a result saves about $10 million a year in property taxes.

In reporting Hackensack news, editors ignore big conflict

One of the projects proposed Tuesday night would return Hackensack's Main and State streets to two-way traffic, something that many residents and merchants have long hoped for as they try to navigate the congested business district. This photo was taken in late January, when parking was banned on one side of Main to clear away snow.

By VICTOR E. SASSON
EDITOR

Today, The Record carries a follow-up to Tuesday night's Hackensack City Council meeting, where officials proposed four major downtown and recreation projects.

In the second paragraph, Staff Writer John Seasly quotes Chief Financial Officer James Mangin saying the projects wouldn't increase taxes.

Seasly actually wrote that Mangin "insisted" taxes wouldn't go up, as if the reporter had contradictory information in hand.

Still, even that wasn't sexy enough. 

Seasly later quotes a resident, Chris Colli, asking, "How much more of a tax increase will that equate to for this town?"

Seasly doesn't say if Colli is hard of hearing, came in late or just missed Mangin's statement.

The proposals are scheduled to be presented at a public hearing on April 4, when a final vote will be taken.

Towns v. hospitals

To many residents, a far more controversial issue is major non-profit institutions that pay reduced or no taxes, shifting the burden onto Hackensack homeowners and commercial property owners.

A front-page story today reports Teaneck and Englewood have joined a growing number of towns challenging the tax-exempt status of their local hospitals (A-1).

The Record's report doesn't even mention Hackensack University Medical Center, which also was missing in recent stories on Governor Christie trying to immunize the hospitals from suits for two years.

Nor has The Record asked Hackensack officials why they aren't filing their own lawsuit after a landmark Tax Court decision last June that stripped Morristown Medical Center of its century old exemption from property taxes (A-4).

The potential tax liability of Englewood Hospital and Medical Center is missing from today's story, but Holy Name Medical Center would have to pay about $2 million a year.

HUMC's potential tax liability is far greater, more than $10 million, Hackensack officials have said.

Auto show

On Wednesday, The Record's business editors went out to lunch, and never returned to the office.

At least that's the impression readers have from today's stale preview of the New York International Auto Show at the Jacob Javits Center (L-7).

"Hyundai will join Toyota in showing off new electric and hybrid vehicles," The Associated Press reports today.

In fact, those cars were introduced on Wednesday, the first of two press days, as the photo and caption clearly indicate.

Old Prius news

And Tom Krisher, a clueless AP reporter, adds, "Toyota will show a plug-in Prius than can run on electricity alone." 

But since the first Prius was imported in 2000, the hybrid's gasoline engine turned off when stopped at lights, when coasting and at other times, allowing the battery and electric motor to power it. 

In another major error, Krisher claims hybrids and electrics appealed to the "environmentally conscious" and "lacked the power and handling of gas-powered rivals" (L-7).

But electrics accelerate far faster than a conventional car, because all of their power is available immediately.

Krisher's story on L-7 carries a New York dateline, but a related piece on L-8 carries a Detroit dateline. 

How was he in two places at the same time? 

PA big again dupes reporter on new Manhattan bus hub

At mid-afternoon on Tuesday, an NJ Transit 165 local bus to Hackensack flew through the Lincoln Tunnel. The round-trip senior fare is only $4.10.

By VICTOR E. SASSON
EDITOR

The Record's transportation reporter is proving to be as gullible as his predecessors on Lincoln Tunnel congestion and plans for a new bus terminal in Manhattan.

Today, Port Authority Vice Chairman Scott Rechler duped Staff Writer Paul Berger into writing an elaborate Page 1 argument for a new bus hub in New Jersey (A-1).

That would mean commuters from Ridgewood, Hackensack and other towns would have to transfer to a city-bound train, which won't be built for a decade or more.

What incredible nonsense. 

Of course, the Lincoln Tunnel is congested -- the Port Authority operates an exclusive bus lane only in the morning, and buses parked in New Jersey during the day have to fight rush-hour traffic to pick up commuters at the antiquated midtown Manhattan terminal.

Rechler and everyone else at the Port Authority fear the easiest and quickest solution to that congestion -- more exclusive bus lanes operated weekday mornings and afternoons.

They would be a victory for bus riders, but anger thousands of drivers whose toll money keeps the bi-state agency afloat.

On Wednesday, Hackensack senior citizens gathered for a St. Patrick Day's Luncheon of corned beef and cabbage at the city recreation center on Holt Street.

The buffet luncheon included entertainment.

Mayor John P. Labrosse Jr., second from left, and other City Council members posed for a photo.

Tax-exempt hospitals

Residents of Hackensack, Englewood and other towns with non-profit, tax-exempt hospitals are chagrined Governor Christie is seeking a moratorium on lawsuits that seek more money from them (A-1).

In Hackensack, officials settled tax appeals by agreeing Hackensack University Medical Center will pay the city $4.5 million over three years.

If medical center property was taxed fully, Hackensack would receive more than $10 million a year in new revenue, stabilizing or reducing taxes paid by homeowners and commercial property owners.

Local news?

A long story on Teaneck approving a preliminary school budget on Wednesday has Hackensack readers wondering why they haven't seen anything in The Record on their school budget plan, which was approved on March 1 (L-3).

If you're watching your cholesterol, be sure to steer clear of Axton's by Chef Anton Testino in far-off Pompton Lakes (Better Living).

The "huge" scallops come with bacon, pasta with crab meat is topped with pork, and cheese flows like lava out of the open kitchen (BL-16).

Restaurant Reviewer Elisa Ung doesn't say whether Chef Anton Testino will broil fish for a customer or hold the meat in his other dishes.

And despite her lukewarm, 2-star revue, she raves over the "luscious cannoli cream" in a totally superfluous dessert.

Wealthy hospital wines and dines Hackensack officials

Deputy Mayor Marlin G. Townes, second from left, announced near the end of Tuesday night's meeting at City Hall that he and other Hackensack officials had attended the lavish 125th anniversary celebration of Hackensack University Medical Center.

A growing Hackensack University Medical Center has destroyed the residential character of its neighborhood, but as a non-profit pays no taxes to the city of Hackensack on property with an assessed value of $130 million.

The medical center uses many city services and, a few years ago, took over the profitable ambulance service from the city Fire Department.

Only a fraction of its patients live in Hackensack.

So, why did City Council members and other city officials attend a party to celebrate the medical center's 125th anniversary in luxury suites at the MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford?

City officials should be negotiating with hospital officials for payments in lieu of taxes, not sipping free champagne.

Freeloaders

Councilman John Labrosse, the only incumbent seeking another term in the May 14 election, works at the medical center, and has been totally ineffective in getting HUMC to give back to the city. 

On Tuesday night, Deputy Mayor Marlin G. Townes, who described himself as a Giants fan, gushed about the party at MetLife Stadium. 

Mayor Michael R. Melfi praised the medical center and said the city of Hackensack is lucky to have the world-class complex.

Councilwoman Karen K. Sasso, who also attended, described the celebration as "a business meeting."

City Attorney Joseph C. Zisa Jr. said he didn't attend, presumably because he was too busy rubber stamping payments of tens of thousands in legal fees to fellow lawyers.

I didn't see a story about the celebration or the attendees in The Record.

Today's paper

Editor Marty Gottlieb devotes two of the four elements on Page 1 today to lawyers -- who appear to be at the root of all of our problems in Hackensack and North Jersey, where high legal fees restrict access to the courts.

There are more lawyers involved in defending doctors and others in the Medicare and insurance fraud story at the bottom of A-1.

The poorly edited story should have focused on the laboratory owning Nicoll brothers from Wayne and Mountain Lakes -- one of whom allegedly received $33 million in a six-year period that he blew on exotic cars, private jet travel and a Manhattan apartment for a "female companion" (A-6).

Dissing Hackensack

Don't look for any news from Hackensack in the Local news section, even though a reporter from The Record attended Tuesday night's council meeting.

The Local front is filled with court and process stories, but a heart-breaking piece on a hit-and-run victim is relegated to L-2, when it should have been on A-1.

Vladimir Artavia, 31, a native of Costa Rica, left his job as a waiter at Bel Posto, an expensive restaurant on Prospect Avenue in Hackensack, when he was knocked down by a hit-and-run driver and left to die.

Head Assignemt Editor Deirdre Sykes and her deputy, Dan Sforza, leave out the reason Artavia was "walking home" to Hasbrouck Heights.

He and other restaurant workers are paid so little -- less than $3 an hour -- they can't afford cars.

But God forbid Sykes and Sforza should wake up from their news comas and expose the dark side of restaurants -- one of the paper's biggest advertisers. 

Blogger is running for Hackensack City Council

Hackensack City Hall was closed for Presidents Day, but even when open, do the manager and City Council serve residents or are they beholden to special interests?

Victor E. Sasson, the retired reporter, copy editor and food writer behind Eye on The Record, is running for a seat on the Hackensack City Council.

Sasson needs at least 250 signatures on nominating petitions to get his name on the ballot in the non-partisan May 14 election.

He is married and his stepson attends Hackensack High School. Sasson worked at The Record for more than 29 years, and has lived in Hackensack since August 2007.

A lifelong Democrat, Sasson is running independently on a quality of life platform with the goal of improving city services while holding the line on property tax increases.

A major plank in his platform is to persuade Hackensack University Medical Center and other non-profits to contribute money or other services to the city in lieu of taxes.

Sasson announced his candidacy in a letter published on Friday in the Hackensack Chronicle:

Feb. 1, 2013

To the Editor:

I joke that I am running for the Hackensack City Council to get my street paved.

But the sad truth is that as property taxes have risen, the quality of life in Hackensack has declined dramatically.

My neighbor says our street hasn’t been paved in 20 years [actually, not since 1979]. Noise from low-flying business jets keeps me up or drowns out the TV. The city has been slow in installing solar panels, and still operates many inefficient Police Department vehicles.

I am a former reporter and copy editor at The Record. I am married and my stepson attends Hackensack High School.

If elected to a 4-year term, my goal in the first year is to halt the rise in property taxes. Then, I would work to deliver a property tax cut to residents in each of the remaining three years.

One issue the City Council hasn’t addressed in the past eight years is how much the non-profit Hackensack University Medical Center should pay to the city in lieu of taxes.

Unfortunately, council incumbent John Labrosse, who is seeking another term, works at HUMC, and likely would be ineffective in persuading the hospital to contribute more to a city that has so graciously accommodated its expansions over the years.

I am running as an Independent for Councilman-at-Large on a quality of life platform. The election will be held on May 14, 2013, and I need 250 signatures from registered voters to get on the ballot. I would be financing my campaign and would not accept money from special interests.

If elected, I will:

--Work with Teterboro Airport to reduce aircraft noise, and work with federal officials to get a mandatory curfew on flights between 11 p.m. and 6 a.m.

--Get Hackensack to purchase more efficient vehicles, including hybrids, for the Police Department and other agencies.

--Explore government grants to add hybrids to the city’s fleet, and encourage the installation of more solar panels on city owned property.

--Start collection of garbage and recyclables after 6:30 a.m.

 --Ban landscaping work on Saturdays and Sundays.

--Encourage police to establish routine patrols of neighborhoods, if that isn’t being done now.

--Get police to crack down on speeders, stop-sign violators and loud motorcycles.

--Encourage the city to undertake a major program to repave streets, including Euclid Avenue, which hasn’t been resurfaced in about 20 years.

--Have turn lanes installed on Passaic Street, at Summit Avenue, and at other traffic bottlenecks.

--Encourage the City Council to deliver a property tax cut to residents by passing along some of the additional tax revenue from major building projects, and gasoline and electricity savings.

--Call me with suggestions: 201-488-3012.


Save the date, May 14, 2013. Vote for peace and quiet. Vote for Victor E. Sasson for City Council.


Victor E. Sasson

Hackensack, N.J.

Hey, Monsy, what about the new signs?

Image via Wikipedia

Hey, Staff Writer Monsy Alvarado, aren't you going to be writing anything about Hackensack in The Record of Woodland Park outside of the case of suspended Police Chief Ken Zisa? What about all the new signs the city has put up in the past couple of months, directing visitors to the Bergen County Courthouse, the Academies, the shopping district, parking, the medical center, and so forth? Isn't that a legitimate story? Maybe even a photo or two? They're gold and blue, and dress up the city.


What about the proposed city budget and tax hike, reportedly more than 7%? Isn't that worthy of coverage? Are you that busy with the Zisa coverage -- and so under the thumb of clueless head Assignment Editor Deirdre Sykes -- that you have failed so miserably in your assignment: Hackensack.


What about the Police Department's continuing use of gas-guzzling cruisers? Don't you have time to ask the city manager about whether he plans to replace them with more efficient, six-cylinder cars, like the ones being used for parking enforcement? What about solar power for city buildings and schools? In fact, a couple of years ago, in a roundup, you quoted the official as saying Hackensack had taken only "baby steps" on alternative energy. Did you ever follow that up?


Do you still call yourself a reporter, Monsy? How much time do you actually spend in Hackensack? How many residents do you talk to? We know you don't cover City Council or school board meetings, so what do you do to justify your existence? Why is there no Hackensack news in the former Hackensack daily today? Why are you and Sykes giving the royal F.U. to Hackensack residents?

I know you're afraid of Mother Hen Deirdre, Monsy (so is everyone else, including Editor Frank Scandale). And I don't expect you to sacrifice yourself to expose how bad Sykes and her minions are for local news coverage. Where are the Borgs? Counting their money?


The lead story today on A-1 is about the proposed dissolving of Teterboro, which has 38 residents and 23 city workers. I doubt it will come to pass, but if it did, businesses would have to pay higher taxes, and that presumably includes the incredibly annoying airport and jet charter companies.


The Record continues to ignore all the noise Teterboro Airport visits on residents in Hackensack, Maywood and other towns, but can't help promoting business jet sales and travel at the airport, as Staff Writer Richard Newman does today on L-7. Thousands of readers groaned to read about an increase in flights, but Newman did his best imitation of a public relations man on the airport's trade show.


How can The Record be objective about Teterboro? Do you recall how the aviation museum there once was a pet project of then-Publisher Malcolm A. "Mac" Borg. Before the museum was established, Mac couldn't stop promoting it, even when he invited to lunch in his private dining room a new executive director of the Port Authority, which owns the airport. It was the first thing out of Mac's mouth -- expletive deleted.

An alleged sexual assault after a prom? Is that A-1 news? A barn fire in Pequannock (might as well be Wyoming). Is that A-1 news? 


On the front of Local, the road-building lobby continues to call the shots for Road Warrior John Cichowski. Hey, John, ever hear about mass transit?

Editorial Page Editor Alfred P. Doblin is the latest staffer to accept protesters' claims that expanding The Valley Hospital in Ridgewood may endanger the health of students in a nearby school (A-22). Did The Record express similar concerns when the FiveSix School was built next to Hackensack Middle School?

The Record supports the hospital expansion -- without acknowledging the potential gain in advertising revenue from a bigger medical center. (I just threw away some copies of the paper, including Food and Go! sections, from 2005 and 2006. They were incredibly fat with advertising when compared with today's pathetically thin papers.)

I'm glad Food Editor Bill Pitcher -- who is obsessed with eating meat -- finally has reviewed a  seafood restaurant in Better Living (a few weeks ago, he sampled only meat dishes at a Turkish place). But he pans McCormick & Schmick's, a chain restaurant. Why one star? It sounds awful. Are you protecting an advertiser, Bill? Copy editors left a problem in the second paragraph, and the ending makes no sense.

Next time, Bill, try Sea Shack in Hackensack or a more casual choice, Seafood Gourmet in Maywood.


Pitcher still has not explained to readers why restaurant sanitary inspections from Wyckoff never appear in Friday's column. Are you protecting someone, Bill?

(Photo: Church on The Green, Hackensack)