Montclair Councilor Says He Is ‘Horrified,’ Requests Help From Acting State Comptroller in Whistleblower Case

Montclair Councilor At Large Peter Yacobellis, after learning that Derrick Freijomil of Riker Danzig, attorney for the Township of Montclair, argued Friday to strike a statement attributed to him in the amended complaint for Padmaja Rao v. Township of Montclair, has reached out to New Jersey Acting State Comptroller Kevin Walsh seeking assistance.

Yacobellis writes:

I respectfully request that you review the below communication, which has gone unanswered by Mr. Freijomil of Riker Danzig, our Acting Township Attorney Paul Burr, and our Assistant Township Attorney Gina DeVito. I’m writing to you now after only recently learning that the Town’s legal strategy in Padmaja Rao v. Township of Montclair, has among other things, included moving to strike comments that I have made last Oct. regarding retaliation, from the record – something I understand the Judge did not entertain. I find this alarming.

I have been outspoken for as long as I’ve been aware of the issues regarding Ms. Rao. I am deeply concerned that I was never made aware of the complaint Ms. Rao filed against the then-Township Manager Tim Stafford, internally, nor the details of her legal complaint until all of those matters were made public. I believe that I am being walled off from these decisions. As a duly elected member of the Township’s governing body, this deliberate attempt to conceal important municipal matters violated the purpose and spirit of my election to the Council by local residents. Moreover, the current circumstances point to an overarching culture of secrecy by the administration that runs counter to efficient government.

Shortly after learning of these issues, I publicly called for the removal of Mr. Stafford. Around the same time, I also made comments that I believed certain members of the Township Council were retaliating against Ms. Rao by removing her from the Finance Committee and by suddenly focusing on what to me seemed like only newfound and potential invented concerns about her work performance.

Ms. Rao is exceptional at her job and is the epitome of character and integrity. We should be doing everything possible to protect whistleblowers and encourage speaking up. From my observation, the actions Ms. Rao have taken have been in the best interest of the Township. I am thankful to her for bringing the matters she raised, into the daylight so that they can be properly addressed.

I am horrified to be part of this government at the current time and I am certain that your review and oversight will be helpful in heading this matter in a better direction. Any assistance you might provide, would be greatly appreciated.

-Peter

The email to the comptroller was sent shortly after Yacobellis also emailed Rao’s attorney, Nancy Erika Smith on Thursday. Yacobellis writes:

Ms. Smith, I am voluntarily breaking attorney-client privilege with regard to Riker Danzig and the Rao lawsuit. Please see my note below which has gone unanswered by Mr. Freijomil, our Acting Township Attorney, and our Assistant Township Attorney. I’m writing to you now after only recently learning that the Town’s legal strategy, has among other things, included moving to strike comments that I have made last Oct. regarding retaliation, from the record – something I understand the Judge did not entertain. I found this alarming.

As you may recall, I have been outspoken for as long as I’ve been aware of the issues regarding Ms. Rao. I am deeply concerned that I was never made aware of the complaint Ms. Rao filed against Mr. Stafford internally, nor the details of her legal complaint that you are supporting her on until all of those matters were made public. Shortly after learning of these issues, I publicly called for the removal of Mr. Stafford. Around the time I also made comments that I believed certain members of the Township Council were retaliating against Ms. Rao by kicking her off of the Finance Committee and by suddenly focusing on what to me seemed like only newfound concerns about her work performance.

I am horrified to be part of this government at this moment in time. Ms. Rao is exceptional at her job and is the epitome of character and integrity. We should be doing everything possible to protect whistleblowers and encourage speaking up. From my observation, the actions Ms. Rao have taken have been in the best interest of the Township. I am thankful to her for bringing the matters she raised, into the daylight so that they can be properly addressed.

Thank you for your steadfast work. If I can be of any assistance, please do not hesitate to ask. As it is important to me that my constituents understand my position, I am copying local media.

-Peter

Smith, in a reply to Yacobellis, writes:

Peter,

After reading the first sentence, I have stopped reading this and have deleted it. I cannot read or hear anything about your conversations with your counsel.

Yacobellis’ email to Freijomil states:

On whose authority did you seek to strike statements I made last year regarding what I believed to be retaliation against Ms. Rao? 

Who are you conferring with on legal strategy at the town?

Please be 100% clear that you do not have my support.

I’m appalled by “the town’s” approach with regard to Ms. Rao.

She did the right thing blowing the whistle on the various questionable acts by Township leaders and some members of the Council over the years. I find continued attempts to marginalize, silence or dismiss her to be abhorrent. I can assure you a majority of my constituents, who I represent, feel the same way.

You may be representing certain members of the Council with perhaps the slimmest of majorities. But be assured, you’re not representing Montclair’s values when you’re speaking for us in the courtroom and I believe if a public vote were held to affirm or oppose this course of action, a majority of the Council would oppose it.

Amended Complaint Includes Spiller Investigation Allegations

The amended complaint states that in the course of October 25, 2022 council meeting — the first meeting after Rao filed her complaint —  Yacobellis stated that Mayor Sean Spiller had allegedly initiated his own investigation into Rao to obtain damaging information on her job performance. These allegations were also reported on October 19, where Councilor Peter Yacobellis stated that “on several occasions, including after the most recent Council Meeting, the Mayor approached him and his colleagues to discuss building a file of examples that could be used to pursue disciplinary action against Ms. Rao.”

Councilor Yacobellis, at the October 25 meeting, again states that Mayor Spiller had asked Yacobellis and other Montclair councilors to provide him with damaging information on Rao’s job performance and conduct. Councilor Yacobellis stated the mayor had most recently requested such information about Rao at the prior council meeting, September 28, 2022. He further stated that when making the requests, Mayor Spiller did not disclose the existence of the Montclair Affirmative Action Officer’s report on the complaint Rao had filed with his office, which had concluded that Stafford had created a hostile work environment for Rao.

The amended complaint reads:

At the same October 25, 2022, council meeting, Councilor Yacobellis revealed that Mayor Spiller had commenced a retaliatory investigation against Rao in an attempt to create a derogatory record of her job performance and conduct, which could be used to undermine Rao in her work and potentially terminate her employment. In response to public comments regarding Rao’s lawsuit against Montclair and Stafford filed October 17, 2022, councilor Peter Yacobellis stated:

“I’m also concerned that on multiple occasions including as recently as the end of the last council meeting [September 28, 2022] that you, mayor, engaged me and others in a conversation about Ms. Rao’s performance and behavior, mentioning several possible transgressions including that she refused to pay our external grant writers, the Aubrey Group, and that she stuck the issue of healthcare into our audit quote unquote among other things.

While having those kinds of discussions are completely appropriate, I found the timing of you discussing those concerns about her performance inappropriate especially not knowing that there had been this investigation and subsequent conclusion [of a hostile work environment] which I find it really hard to believe that you didn’t know about[.]”

In January 2023, Councilor David Cummings questioned Yacobellis’ version of the events in the amended complaint:

Comment from Councilor David Cummings: “After being informed of the most recent article in Baristanet regarding the CFO’s revised complaint, I feel compelled to set the record straight. Councilor Yacobellis’s characterization that the Mayor approached him and other councilors to discuss building a file of examples that could be used to pursue disciplinary action against Ms. Rao did not include me, or Councilor Russo. What I do recall vividly is, that night, the Mayor approached Councilor Price Abrams and Yacobellis and spoke to them for several minutes. He then spoke to Deputy Mayor Hurlock and Councilor Schlager for a few minutes. I was not privy to what was said. But it became obvious to me a few days later when I got a text from a reporter asking if the Mayor had informed councilors that the Township was unhappy with Rao’s performance and the town was essentially creating a file on Roa that would include insubordination and failure on the job.”

“The Mayor never approached me. I will say in the time I have worked with Ms. Rao on the Finance Committee she has always put the Township’s fiscal standing first.”

“Troubling to me is after reading this recent article, it affirms my original belief that one of the Council members leaked what happened that night to the press. After receiving that text inquiry from a local reporter asking me to confirm his description, I called every Council member and asked them if the reporter reached out to them, too. The mayor’s conversations with Councilor Yacobellis, Price Abrams, and then Hurlock and Schlager, took place after an Executive Session. The only people in the room were Council members. Every council member except Yacobellis told me they received an inquiry from the reporter. As someone with 30 years experience as a journalist, that leads me to believe the only reason the reporter did not contact Yacobellis is because Yacobellis was the source of the information.”